New Allies: Part One: Lutdeo
by Fritters-4-Psi
Summary: The first part of a story arc where the gang meets some new allies. While heading to Omashu on the way back from the North Pole, the gang stops in a forest and meets an interesting person. Note: Zutara in later chapters.
1. Introduction

Story Arc: New Allies 

Part: One- The Lutdeo

Chapter: One- Introduction

Author: Fritters-4-Psi

Disclaimer: I do not own the show Avatar: The Last Air Bender or the related characters. Nor do I profit from this fanfiction. Nothing is of my creation until later chapters (like the next one), and will be noted then.

A/N: I'm planning to have this story be part of a story arc. If this story goes well and gets good reviews, I'll work on the other stories in the arc. I will state in the summaries of the other stories, when I write them, that they are apart of the 'New Allies' story arc.

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Three human figures walked through the forests on the boarders of an area that was a part of the Earth Nation. One was around fifteen. His name was Sokka; he claimed himself to be a warrior and had a love for food. Another was around fourteen. Her name was Katara; she was a water-bender and was probably the most sensible in the group. The third was one hundred-twelve. His name was Aang; he was the last Air Bender and had the Air Bender tattoos to prove it. He was the Avatar.

There were two animals with them, as well. One was a winged lemur named Momo. He liked to eat nuts and berries. The other was much larger than Momo. He was a flying bison named Appa. He had an arrow on his head like Aang. The three humans and the two animals had just been to the North Pole and were on their way to Omashu. They had been walking since after dawn and had only broke for lunch. It was nearing time for another break. "Hey, guys? Are we going to stop and eat soon?" Sokka asked, "I'm hungry. And tired. I don't know why you're making me carry this pack. Appa was perfectly content carrying it himself."

"Sokka, you know why you're carrying it. It has all our food! When Appa was carrying it, you'd fall behind us and sneak food out of it. You may not realize it, but we're running short on food," Katara sighed.

"Well, we can just buy more. That simple," Sokka shrugged.

"We're running out of money, too. We'll just have to think of something to do," Katara said.

Aang, who had remained quiet during the siblings' discussion realized something. "Warriors often are also hunters. I'm sure that there are some animals nearby that you could eat. Sokka could go out and find something you could eat. I'd have to find something different because I don't eat meat, but I'm sure I can find something else," Aang suggested.

"That's a great idea, Aang! Warriors are hunters. I've been seeing hoof prints in the ground all along. There's bound to be something out there. Sokka can go and find meat while Aang and I look for some berries or something," Katara said.

"Sounds good. I'll go get meat and you two will get veggies. We can finally have a meal that is halfway decent. Well, I've got my boomerang. It will be easier to travel without it, so I'll leave this pack here," Sokka put the pack down, "Well, I'm off. Because of my great talent with anything involving weapons, I'll be back in an hour with the meat."

Sokka walked off proudly. "He's not going to be back in an hour, is he?" asked Aang.

"No. It will probably be three hours before he's back," Katara stated, "The berries would start to whither before he gets back, so we shouldn't get them now. I'm going to set up the tents."

"Want to know something funny?" Aang asked and Katara nodded, "We actually could have bought plenty of food. I found a sack of money a while ago. I guess I just forgot about it."

"Well, lets see how Sokka does at hunting. If he's any good at it, we can save our money for when we actually need it," Katara said.

"Yeah," Aang agreed, "The nearest market was too far out of the way anyway."

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This is my first Avatar fanfic. Review and I'll comment on it at the end of the next chapter. I'm hoping to get reviews... I really like reviews. I do realize that I may not get good reviews yet, though. There isn't a lot to the story yet, but it gets better. Just wait, in about two days time...

A bit about the next chapter: We cut to Sokka attempting to use his great hunting abilities. He finds something that could be food, but there are some issues.


	2. A Birth

Story Arc: New Allies 

Part: One- The Lutdeo

Chapter: Two- A Birth

Author: Fritters-4-Psi

Disclaimer: I do not own the show Avatar: The Last Air Bender or the related characters. Nor do I profit from this fanfiction. The only things of my creation in this fanfiction are the Koertan, Risha and things to come in later chapters.

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Sokka walked calmly, looking at the hoof prints on the ground. The search for meat was going slowly. He was beginning to think that he wouldn't be back in an hour; more like three. He had never seen hoof prints like this before. The front and back set were cloven, but the front hooves had three cloves instead of four, like the back hooves. Of course, he had also lived most of his life in the Water Nation.

Despite that fact, he was a warrior. Warriors knew how to track their enemy, their prey. Even if it took all night, he'd get what ever it was that was leaving those footprints. He continued on his way, still looking at the hoof prints. He judged that by the prints' distance apart, the animal had slowed down. Maybe this would only take an hour.

Half an hour later, Sokka noticed another set of prints. The new set wasn't from the same animal as the one with the cloven prints. The new set looked like paw prints, but Sokka wasn't sure. He proceeded to follow the prints. Fifteen minutes passed and when Sokka looked up from the ground, he saw a clearing. In the clearing, he saw what he believed he had been following.

The animal had it's back turned to Sokka, but he could see one of it's hind feet; it was cloven with four cloves. It looked to be a hybrid of a sheep and a deer. It had wool that was a reddish-brown and curved horns on its head. And looked absolutely delicious. Grabbing his boomerang, he stalked toward the creature. He reached the mouth of the clearing, but heard ferocious growling behind him. Turning around slowly, and looking down, he saw a small dog like creature. It had two whip-like tails and message carrier around it's neck. "Easy boy," Sokka said, reaching toward the message carrier," I just want to see something."

Sokka set down his boomerang and to his surprise, the dog subdued from his growling. With a sigh and a shrug, Sokka grabbed the message carrier, opened it, and pulled out a message. He read it out loud, "'Dear Interloper,' Well, what a nice way to address someone," Sokka interjected his own comment, "'You have receive this message because you are in possession of a weapon that could cause harm to the Koertan.' I'm guessing that's one of those creatures. 'Do not bring harm to the Koertan. If such an act is committed, then punishment shall pursue. Sincerely, Proprietor of Koertan Forest. P.S. Put this message back in it's carrier and put it back on the dog.' Doesn't he sound like a nice person? I don't want punishment to pursue, so I shouldn't kill that thing. Lets just take a look at this thing, if it will let me."

Sokka replaced the massage in the carrier and walked over to the Koertan. Expecting it to get up and flee, he was surprised when it stayed. He moved closer and realized the reason it didn't move. It was giving birth and was obviously having trouble. Sokka almost panicked. He knew of no way he could help this creature, but regained his composure. He ran over to the dog. "Ok, boy. It's odd talking to a dog. Dog, you need to go get someone. Anyone who can help that thing. Probably the Proprietor of Koertan Forest. He probably knows how to help. Go bring him here," Sokka instructed to the dog.

Miraculously, the dog understood him and bounded off. Sokka looked back at the Koertan despondently. He hoped that the animal didn't die and that it's death got blamed on him. Twenty minutes went by. The dog still hadn't returned and the Koertan had progressively gotten worse. Sokka knew that if something wasn't done soon, the mother and her unborn calf would die. Warriors knew how to take care of simple wounds, like cuts and certain sicknesses, but dealing with births was something they didn't know about. Something had to be done though.

He looked at the Koertan's hindquarters and saw two four-cleaved feet; the calf was being born breach. "Ok, not good," Sokka said to himself, "It's coming out backwards. I hope that dog comes back with someone soon."

Right as he said that, someone did come. A Koertan, with someone on it's back, arrived in the clearing. The person rode over to where Sokka was. They jumped off the back of the Koertan and asked, "How long have the hind feet been out?"

Sokka looked up at the rider and saw a girl around his age. She wore long, baggy black pants and a dark green tank top that glinted red in the sun. Her light brown hair was pulled back into a bun. Her eyes, Sokka noted, were an odd greenish-yellow color. "Well. For how long?" she asked seriously.

"Well, uh... Five minutes? Maybe?" Sokka said questioningly.

"Do you know anything about pulling calves?" she demanded.

"No. I was born in a Southern Water Tribe. My name's Sokka," he explained.

"No time for introductions, kid. I'm going to push the calf back in and get it turned around. Then I'm going to need your help pulling it out," the girl instructed.

Sokka blinked in shock as the girl pushed the feet back into the mother, reached in and carefully turned the calf around inside, and pulled the front feet out a little way. "Ok, now, I need you to grab the feet and pull," she commanded.

"Why me? How come I have to pull the feet? What are you going to do?" Sokka asked in a panic.

"This is her first calf. She's obviously very stressed. She's not pushing the calf out like she should be. I have to help her," the girl said, almost to herself.

"You could help her by helping me pull," Sokka commented.

She acted as if she hadn't heard what Sokka had said. She just walked to the Koertan's head. Sokka wanted to watch what she was going to do, but he had to pull the feet. The girl had never told Sokka how hard to pull and he was beginning to panic. Men aren't supposed to be at births. Even if it was for an animal, unless the man was a farmer; Sokka was not a farmer. He could tell that this girl could have a temper if annoyed. Sokka was certain that temper would show if this creature died. He grabbed the Koertan calf's feet and pulled.

It was a very stressful seven minutes for Sokka. Every so often he would look at the girl to see what she was doing. It almost looked as if she was sleeping. She had her eyes closed and one hand laid on the Koertan's forehead, almost perfectly still the whole time, except for the cringes that happened every so often. The calf's feet were slimy and this disgusted Sokka. He figured that the slime was from the birth sack that was around most of the calf. The head and shoulders came out and were soon followed by the rest of the body. Sokka looked to the girl for some hint as to what to do. She had her eyes open, but was rubbing her head, as if she was in pain. Slowly, she stood up and half-stumbled to the calf. "Okay, we need to get the sack off and get the fluids out of it's stomach and lungs," she said weakly, "I need you to get some dried grass; stuff that's like hay."

The girl removed the sack from the calf while the mother stood up. The mother Koertan walked over to it's calf and started licking it as Sokka returned with the grass. "Ew! What is she doing that for? That's disgusting! That thing is all covered in slime, and she's licking it?" Sokka asked in disgust.

With a slight laugh, the girl answer, "They lick their newborn to help get the blood circulating. It also get them clean and dry. Also, for the same reason the mother will end up eating the after-birth; there's good nutrients in there."

She grinned and took the grass out of Sokka's hands. Taking one piece, she tickled inside the calf's nose. Instantly, the calf coughed and sneezed up some fluids. She repeated the process of tickling the calf's nose several times before she stopped and lifted one of the calf's hind legs. She stood up and said, "Well, it's a girl. You can name it, if you want to."

"Eh, maybe later," Sokka decided to change the subject, "So, who are you?"

This question seemed to catch the girl off guard, but she quickly regained her composure. "How could I forget to introduce myself? My name's Risha," she extended her hand for Sokka to shake it.

Realizing that Sokka had given her an odd look, Risha said, "Hey! it's not like your hands aren't slimy, too."

Sokka shrugged and shook her hand. "So, what are you doing out here?" he asked.

"I'm the Proprietor of Koertan Forest. I live here. I own a small house in the center of the forest. I make sure that people don't try to kill the Koertan during mating and calving season; which is now. That's why there's the dogs with the message containers. They sniff out the weakest Koertan to guard, so people won't kill them. The dogs are trained to protect the Koertan and kill those who seem threatening," Risha explained, "Of course, sometimes there is problems with their training. Like, when they kill those they shouldn't. That hasn't happened in a while, thankfully."

"Ok, I want to know because I feel like I've been used, so that you didn't have to pull the calf. What were you doing to help the mother?" Sokka asked.

"Eh? What?" Risha acted like she hadn't heard him, then changed the subject, "Well, it's getting late. I have to go. I haven't eaten since lunch and I'm hungry. Don't forget; don't try to kill the Koertan. And, don't forget that your boomerang is over at the opening of the clearing."

Risha walked over to the Koertan that she arrived on and mounted it. She waved and left the clearing. Sokka stood there, watched her ride away, and felt something tugging at his pants. He looked down to see the Koertan calf gazing up into his eyes, blinking its huge brown eyes. Sokka felt overwhelmed, thinking that without his help, this beautiful creature would be dead. He smiled, grabbed his boomerang, and headed back to where Aang and Katara were waiting.

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No reviews. But at the end of the next chapter, I'm going to comment on the reviews, if I get some, so open the review flood gates! And if anyone feels like attempting to draw a Koertan, go ahead and figure out a way for me to see it. I already tried, but I can't draw very well. Think of, like a Katadin sheep crossed with a deer. I uploaded the second attempt picture onto DeviantArt. my account there is fritter-4-psi. So if you want to see it search on Deviant Art


	3. The Hunter Returns

Story Arc: New Allies 

Part: One- The Lutdeo

Chapter: Three- The Hunter Returns

Author: Fritters-4-Psi

Disclaimer: I do not own the show Avatar: The Last Air Bender or the related characters. Nor do I profit from this fanfiction. The only things of my creation in this fanfiction are the Koertan, Risha, and things that are to come in later chapters

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One and a half hours after Sokka had set out from the camp, Katara saw him returning. "Look who's come back, Aang," she said, "The mighty hunter has returned. So, Sokka, where's the meat?"

"It's still alive. Apparently, killing the Koertan, which are basically the only creatures that live in this forest, is a crime that's punishable by death. Although I didn't get any meat, I did get to help with the birth of a Koertan calf. That was quite neat, but still some what disturbing," Sokka said, "I'm going to go back out tomorrow."

"But I thought you said that people would be killed if they tried to kill the Koertan," Aang said curiously.

"Yeah. And how did you know how to help the Koertan giving birth? Whenever there were any births back home, you always went off because it grossed you out," Katara commented.

"Well, yeah, but I'm more mature now," Sokka defended himself.

"That still doesn't explain how you knew how to help the creature," Katara reminded him.

"A dog went and got someone to help. The person who came, told me what to do. They were the Proprietor of the Forest, so they were supposed to know these things," Sokka explained.

"So now all we have to eat are veggies," Katara sighed.

"Doesn't bother me," Aang said, "I don't eat meat. So Sokka, if you can't kill the Koertan, why are you going back into the forest?"

"There's got to be other animals that we can eat in the forest. I'll just find some and we'll have meat," Sokka said, "And I'd like to find the Proprietor of the Forest. I have a few questions that they never answered."

Katara sighed. A voice in her mind said that they should get going soon. Another voice told her that there was no use trying to talk Sokka out of going back into the forest. Once he got an idea in his head, nothing could change his mind. She saw her brother talking to Aang. With a yawn, she went to her tent to sleep.

It wasn't until the morning that she woke. Groggily, she looked around. She saw Aang eating some berries with Momo. "Where's Sokka?" she asked.

"Oh, he left a long time ago. It has to have been about an hour ago. He said something about hunters always set off bright and early. I think he might be delusional," Aang said absent-mindedly, "Have some berries."

Gladly, Katara grabbed some berries. She remembered that she hadn't eaten the night before. In silence, she sat and ate. During the quiet, she had time to think. Three days before, they had been flying on the coast and had seen Prince Zuko's Fire Nation ship. It was then, that they had decided to head inward, toward the center of the land. If the prince decided to follow them, they would have to use komodo rhinos. The rhinos were fast, but even going their fastest, would be two days behind. But what if Prince Zuko found a quicker mode of transportation? Katara bit her lip and hoped that Sokka would return soon, so they could keep a good distance between them and their enemy.

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Is there a reason why I'm not getting any reviews? Oh, well, people are still reading the story so I guess that's what matters. I would have updated sooner, but we had a steer get out on Monday and everyday we've gone out searching for him. It's Friday and we haven't seen him, much less found him.


	4. A Death

Story Arc: New Allies 

Part: One- The Lutdeo

Chapter: Four- A Death

Author: Fritters-4-Psi

Disclaimer: I do not own the show Avatar: The Last Air Bender or the related characters. Nor do I profit from this fanfiction. The only things of my creation in this fanfiction are the Koertan, Risha, and somethings to be mentioned in later chapters

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There was what seemed like thousands of tracks leading away from the clearing. Sokka had easily found the clearing where the Koertan had been born. When he arrived there, he saw thousands of hoof prints, but no mother Koertan and her calf. The Koertan Risha had been riding would have had to carry extra weight, so the prints would have a more defined imprint on the soil. The ground in the clearing showed no signs of Risha's Koertan.

He looked at the opening of the clearing and saw some tracks that might be the ones he was looking for. Sokka decided that guess was as good as any, so he followed the tracks. For an hour he followed these tracks before anything happened. Toward the end of that hour, he was saw one of those dogs. The dog caught Sokka's scent and ran, hopping he hadn't been spotted. Sokka followed the dog.

For fifteen minutes, the chase went on. The dog had slowly gained a lead of ten yards. The dog disappeared from view and Sokka followed the footprints slowly. After a few minutes, he saw the dog sitting in contentment, vigilantly watching something. Sokka looked in the direction that the dog was looking in. He saw Risha approaching a Koertan with a knife. The Koertan saw Risha, too, but wasn't running. "Hey! I thought you weren't supposed to kill the Koertan," Sokka stated.

Both Risha and the Koertan looked startled. The deer-like creature bounded off deeper into the forest. "Hey, kid. What are you doing out here?" she asked.

"I'm not a kid," Sokka said defensively, "I'm fifteen and a warrior."

With a sigh, Risha explained, "I'm not calling you kid because you are a kid. It's just a name I use. A term of endearment, I suppose. Now answer. What are you doing out here? People don't normally hang around Koertan Forest."

"Well, you see, I'm traveling with my sister and a friend. We've been traveling for quite a while. There hasn't been that much of a chance for a meal that was half way decent. Yesterday, I came out here to get some meat. We haven't had a lot of meat in out diets. For our friend, that's okay, but he's a vegetarian," Sokka said.

"Then I don't know why you came back out here. It's a penalty of death if you kill a Koertan. Those are the only creatures in this forest that you might eat," Risha said with a glare, "You knew that. Why are you traveling?"

"We brought a friend to a Northern Water Tribe. We're on our way to Omashu to see King Bumi," Sokka said.

Risha looked at Sokka. Immediately, she saw that he was far too thin. The day before, he had said he was from the Southern Water Tribe. They must have been traveling for a long time, and still had a long time ahead. She took pity on him. "I tell you what, kid. I'll kill you one of the Koertan. That way, if anyone finds out, I can say I was culling the herd of the sick. Just follow me and then you can help me carry it to your camp," Risha offered.

Sokka shrugged. Normally, he would have argued that he could hunt for himself. But he figured that Risha had a good point about someone finding out that a Koertan was killed during a restricted time. That and he was feeling lazy. Risha went in the direction the Koertan had went. Quietly, Sokka followed her.

As it turns out, the Koertan had been just outside the clearing. The Koertan saw Risha, lowered its head, and pawed at the ground. Risha mimicked what the Koertan had done the best she could. Sokka opened his mouth to say something, but Risha motioned for him to be quiet. With a grim face, Risha took out her knife. "I'm sorry," she said to the Koertan.

She ran the knife across the creature's throat and it fell to the ground. Risha looked down and kneeled by the Koertan. Sadly, she began stroking its sleek neck. "No matter how many times I kill one of these creatures, it never gets any easier," she said quietly.

Sokka walked to where Risha was kneeling. "If it makes you feel any better, I'm sorry," he said.

"Being sorry won't do anything," Risha said almost angrily, "Let's tie these ropes around it and drag him to your camp."

"Okay, but before we do that, I want to know something," Sokka said, "Yesterday, when you were 'helping' the Koertan. What were you doing?"

"I will tell you, but not right now. There will be a time when I tell you," she said

Risha grabbed a coil of rope that was attached to her belt. When she was done, a loop of rope was around the Koertan's barrel and tied on the rope were two long pieces with loops on the end. She grabbed one of the two long rope pieces and Sokka grabbed the other. Slowly, they began dragging the Koertan through the forest.

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Ok, it wouldn't take very long to leave a review, would it?


	5. A Flicker of Hope

Story Arc: New Allies 

Part: One- The Lutdeo

Chapter: Five- A Flicker of Hope

Author: Fritters-4-Psi

Disclaimer: I do not own the show Avatar: The Last Air Bender or the related characters. Nor do I profit from this fanfiction. The only things of my creation in this fanfiction are the Koertan, Kashi, Risha, and things to come up in later chapters.

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Three hours had passed since Aang had seen Sokka when the Avatar heard a far off sound. Quickly, he got to his feet. Warning Katara, they faced the direction the sound was coming from. Aang had his glider and Katara had a full bucket of water. The sound drew closer. 'This can't be the Fire Nation,' Katara thought, 'This is too soon for them to have been able to catch up with us.'

To her relief, it wasn't the Fire Nation. Her brother had returned with some meat, and a strange girl. The girl wore black, baggy pants and a tank-top that was a dark green in the shade, but under the correct light glinted red. Her light brown hair was pulled back into a simple pony tail. And her eyes were an odd greenish-yellow. Aang had already approached the girl and was asking a multitude of questions. "Hi. I'm Aang. What's your name?" he asked.

Aang. That name was familiar Risha realized. She had heard that name before; used in reference to the Avatar. He matched the descriptions she had read on the wanted posters issued by the Fire Nation. An Air Bender. Wide grey eyes. Blue Air Bender tattoos. She was thankful she had a conscience, or else she might have decided to bring him to the person offering the highest reward for his capture; Admiral Zhao. Risha shook her head slightly. She had heard that Zhao had captured Aang once, but he got free. Even rumors from the Fire Nation had passed her way; they sometimes spoke of the cruel treatment of the Avatar while in Zhao's possession. She wouldn't betray the innocent youth.

"My name is Risha," she replied.

"That's a really big, uh, creature. It's really nice that you helped Sokka pull it to our camp. I don't like death. I'm a vegetarian. Wow, that thing's really big. Do you think it was hard for Sokka to catch it?" Aang pondered.

"Actually, Sokka wasn't the one who killed it. I was," Risha said sadly.

"Oh. Sorry," Aang said quietly, but regained his composure, "What are you doing out in the woods?"

"I live here. I'm the Proprietor of Koertan Forest. I make sure that all the rules of the forest that were laid down by the Earth Nation are followed," Risha stated.

"How old are you?" The Avatar asked.

"I'm sixteen; I'll be seventeen in four months," she replied.

"I have a pet lemur. His name is Momo. And a flying bison. His name is Appa. Do you have any pets?" Aang asked.

Katara laughed quietly to herself. Aang's curious innocence was so adorable. For no reason, Katara looked to the sky. Fear gripped her. In the distance were three tendrils of dark smoke. "Uh, guys. I think we have a problem. I think that's the Fire Nation over there," Katara pointed to the smoke.

Risha looked to the smoke. "That's the Fire Nation, all right," she confirmed, "I take it that you're trying to avoid the Fire Nation?"

"Uh, yeah," Sokka commented, "Anyone who doesn't want to avoid the Fire Nation is, probably, insane. And isn't it great? They seem to be half a day's journey behind us. With their komodo rhinos, they can catch up to us in roughly, three hours, I'd say."

The rest of them looked at Sokka. What Katara and Aang knew that Risha didn't, was that for a while now, Sokka had become quite the cynical pessimist. "My house is only three-fourths of an hour away. You can stay there with me for a day or so, until you think that the Fire Nation had passed. There's a barn that the flying bison could stay in, so he wouldn't be spotted. The previous Proprietor of Koertan Forest had a large family; there'd be plenty of rooms for everyone," Risha suggested, "There's a shower and lots of food. Fruits and vegetable, too."

At hearing the word 'shower', Katara's eyes lit up. Sokka's eyes did the same at hearing the words 'lots of food'. "That sound good, doesn't it guys? Let's go then," Aang decided.

To the Avatar and the two teenagers from the Water Tribe, it seemed that Risha was just whistling some random tune. A short while after, though, three Koertan and another creature emerged from the forest. "Oh, wow! That's another flying bison! You have a flying bison! This is awesome! Why didn't you tell me you were an Air Bender? I mean, I'm obviously an Air Bender; I have the tattoos. Imagine, I thought that all the Air Benders and Air Nomads were dead except for me. What's your flying bison's name?" Aang was extremely excited.

With a deep sigh, Risha explained, "I'm sorry to disappoint you, kid, but I'm not an Air Bender or an Air Nomad. You did ask if I have any pets . . . I have one. It's this flying bison. Her name is Kashi."

Risha saw the dejected look on Aang's face. She knew that he must feel a great loneliness in his heart. It must be hard for him. Not only being the Avatar, but being the only Air Bender left. She decided not to crush his hope completely. "Well, hey. I read that flying bison are only around when Air Nomads or Air Benders area around. Maybe there's a chance that an Air Bender was born into one of the other nations. Or maybe there's an Air Nomad wandering the land," she said, trying to cheer Aang up.

A smile crept across his face. "Yeah, that's right," he said, joyfully, "You're right. It is possible. Where did you get Kashi from? Did someone give her to you? If so, who? Maybe they were an Air Nomad or Bender. We could go find them."

"Slow down, kid. I found her in the forest one day. It was when I first got here. When I was first assigned to my post. It was before I got the dogs, so I had to make the daily rounds myself. She was about two tons when I found her. Flying bison grow quickly. She's got to weigh seven and a half tons now," Risha explained.

"Why is she here, though? I mean, there's plenty of ways of transportation to your house. There's those three Koertan and Appa. Someone could always walk," Katara said.

"You said you were worried about the Fire Nation. They know you have a flying bison. I have a flying bison. I'll fly. It'll get the Fire Nation started off in the wrong direction," Risha explained her plan, "While I'm doing that, you can ride the Koertan to my house. They'll know where to go. So no worries about steering."

The other three began to protest that her idea was too dangerous. Risha had already jumped onto Kashi's back and took to the sky, without a word. The three Koertan walked up to the three humans graciously. Aang took an immediate liking to one of the Koertan. The vast entirety of its body was a dark brown. There were, however, white arrows on its body. From its nose to its poll, was one of the arrows; the point was at the nose. Another arrow started with the point at its withers and went to the tail. There was also an arrow of each of the hind legs. White marrow in the horns caused their coloring to have an arrow-like pattern.

One of the two other Koertan walked up to Katara. It was a lighter brown color than the one of Aang's, but its legs up to the knees and hocks, respectively, were black. As were its horns and the nose. The last Koertan was mush bigger than the other two; it was massive. Instead of one pair of horns, there were two pairs. There was a fiery look in its eyes. As Sokka approached it, it pawed at the ground.

By the time that Sokka had managed to mount the creature, after being thrown from its back at least three times, Aang and Katara had already started to bond with their Koertan. Without being given any aides, the Koertan turned and walked on. The winter had passed and the trees had their new leaves for a few months. On the buds, were small, developing fruits. Along side the riders, Momo was flying. He'd fly up to the trees, then climb back down. Bringing up the rear, was Appa, who was slowly plodding along. Suddenly, Momo darted down from the trees. Sokka's Koertan caught sight of this out of the corner of its eye. He spooked and bolted off deeper into the forest.

Worried about her brother, Katara nudged her Koertan into a canter; Aang followed suit. Shortly, they caught up with Sokka. He was on the ground, in a mud puddle that in an open space. Katara looked intently at her brother to see if he was okay. She would have asked, but Aang tapped her on the shoulder and pointed in front of them.

There, in front of them, were two buildings. One was a two-story barn. It was painted a dark brown, to blend in with the surroundings. The house, which was the same color as the barn, was also two-stories. "Well, I'm guessing this is Risha's home," Aang said.

"Yes, it is."

They turned around and saw Risha behind them. "When did you get here?" Sokka asked.

"Just a few seconds ago," she replied, "When did you fall in a mud puddle?"

"Hey, it's not my fault that I'm in the mud. Your Koertan is, obviously, badly trained. It threw me to the ground," Sokka pointed to the Koertan he had been riding.

"Oh, sorry. Katara was supposed to take Horo. He's a really good boy, but he requires a woman's gentle touch," Risha stroked Horo's forehead, "I figured Aang would like Boka because of the arrows on her. You were supposed to take Fruma. She's the gentle doe that lets anyone ride her; she's for arrogant beginners."

"I'm not an arrogant beginner. Just to let you know, I've ridden stuff thousands of times," Sokka defended himself.

"Like what?" Katara asked, interested in what her brother would say.

"Like . . . Appa! I've ridden Appa," Sokka pointed at the flying bison.

"And riding Appa is so difficult. You sit in the saddle and sleep, while Aang or me are steering," Katara exclaimed, "And I know you never rode anything by yourself back home."

"I may not have ridden a lot, but I have a natural talent with animals," Sokka said.

"That's just what an arrogant beginner would say," Risha stated, "And if you had a natural talent with animals, then you would have been able to help the doe by yourself yesterday when it was calving. I, on the other hand, have an actual natural talent with animals. Not just a self-proclaimed one."

This comment irritated Sokka. With a glare, he said, "Oh, and you're so modest too."

Her glare matched Sokka's. Horo stepped up toward Sokka. He lowered his head threateningly and pawed at the ground. "Are you challenging my authority as Proprietor of Koertan Forest? That wasn't an inherited title. I earned that title. It was years of suffering in . . . " Risha cut herself off and tried to calm down, "It took me a long time to get where I am. For years I didn't know what had caused me to have this raw, natural talent with animals. Back in my original home, it was hard for me. Let's put Appa in the barn. Then we can go inside and I can explain myself."

Without speaking, Risha led the way to the barn and opened the doors. Aang walked Appa in there and told him that he'd be back out later. Risha gave the flying bison a giant bale of hay, to munch on happily. There was a complex lock on the outside of the house's door, which Risha opened with ease. The inside of the house was almost one giant room. The second floor was a loft that covered half the ceiling. There were rooms with walls up there, but there was also a balcony that over looked the bottom floor. The rooms on the bottom floor were underneath the loft floor. The rest of the first floor was one giant room. The kitchen, the living room, and dinning room were all connected; there weren't even any walls to differentiate them.

There were so many decorative things in that house. A flag from a nation that neither Aang, not Katara, nor Sokka could identify. A giant skull that, possibly, could have come from a flying bison. The traditional suits of armor from each of the nations. And a flag from the Fire Nation was next to the other flag. "Why is there a Fire Nation flag?" Sokka asked accusingly.

"To remind me of my past," Risha said quietly.

"They killed the rest of your family, didn't they?" Katara asked, "We can understand that. Sokka and I lost our mother to the Fire Nation. And as you know, Aang lost his entire nation to them."

"I'm not one to dwell on the past. I will now tell you what I told you I would. I'm not going to pussy-foot around this. I'm just going to come out straight with it. You might want to sit down," Risha said, "I'm a Lutdeo. That flag on the wall that you probably couldn't identify, is that of the Lutdeo."

A blank look covered all their faces. The blank look passed from Aang's face quickly. "I think I know what you are. A Fauna Bender. It's like the Element Benders. They can control elements. You can control animals. Lutdeo is just the technical name for it. Fauna Benders used to help train the flying bison for the Air Benders," Aang explained, "Back when I got Appa, the Fauna Benders came and one was like three years older than me. She was apprenticed to one of the Masters. She, actually, looked a lot like you. And her name was Risha. Is she related to you?"

"You met my great-great grandmother?" Risha asked surprised, "She was a Fauna Bender. I was named after her. You knew her! What was she like?"

"A lot like you, to be honest," Aang said.

"My cousin and I, back home, would always go into the library and look at the old family portraits. He always said that I had to have been our great-great grandmother reborn. For a while, my cousin was the only person who knew about me being a Fauna Bender. Actually, until I applied for the job as Proprietor of Koertan Forest, he was the only one besides myself that knew. He told me, that if I didn't want anyone else to know, he'd take the secret to his grave," Risha laughed.

"Your cousin seems like a really nice person," Katara said.

"He was really nice. He was a good person," she replied.

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Please review.


	6. A Disturbance of Peace

Story Arc: New Allies 

Part: One- The Lutdeo

Chapter: Six- A Disturbbance of Peace

Author: Fritters-4-Psi

Disclaimer: I do not own the show Avatar: The Last Air Bender or the related characters. Nor do I profit from this fanfiction. The only things of my creation in this fanfiction are the Koertan, Kashi, Risha, and things to come up in later chapters.

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Long into the day, they talked about so many things. From Risha's life as a Fauna Bender. To Aang's journey to the North Pole. Whenever they asked Risha why she left her original home, she'd change the subject. She did the same when Sokka reminded her about 'helping' the Koertan that was calving. At lunch and dinner, Risha prepared the meals. At both meals, they had some Koertan meat. Sokka had been right when he thought they'd taste good. When it had gotten too late, they all went to sleep. When Katara and Sokka had woken, they didn't see Risha or Aang.

Soon, though, they returned. Risha had been explaining to Aang about training flying bison. The Avatar was interested in having a go at it, but the Fauna Bender explained that there'd have to be more flying bison for that. "Well, Kashi's a girl and Appa's a boy. They could have babies," Aang suggested.

"They could . . . Kashi is still too young. She's eight. Not even done growing yet. It'll be probably another year before she's ready to have babies," Risha said, "Besides. Don't you have enough to do? You know? The whole saving the world thing? It'd be too much to do. Saving the world and training a flying bison? I couldn't do it," Risha laughed.

Everyone seemed so relaxed, Katara noticed. Even Sokka, who had been having a rough time. He had gotten some good food in his stomach and was content. She was amazed at Aang. He had to save the world. If he did, would there be more Air Benders again? Was that what Aang was thinking when he was talking about training more flying bison? Had he regained some hope? It was a nice thought, to think that he had. It was a peaceful place, Risha's house. There was quiet. But not for long.

A loud knock was heard on the door. Everyone was silent. The knocking persisted. "Unlock the door. Or we will open it for you," a commanding voice, "In the name of the Fire Nation, open the door!"

In a rushed whisper, Risha said, "See that cupboard over there? It has a false back. You all go into the cupboard. Behind the false back, is a set of stairs. At the bottom of the stairs is a hallway. Take the first right you come across. At the end of that hall is another set of stairs. It leads into the barn. There's a hole in the barn wall that looks to the front of the house. Get Appa ready and when you see that the Fire Nation troops are in the house, leave. As. Fast. As. You. Can. No questions."

The joyful, relaxed calm had disappeared. Fear covered all of their faces. Sokka went over to the cupboard and took out the false back. "Okay, Katara, you go first. Then Aang will go. Then I will. No matter what, we have to make sure Aang is okay. He's the one that the world needs. If someone has to die, it's not going to be him," Sokka instructed in a whisper, "Here, Katara, here's Dad's knife. If you have to, use it."

"You have until the count of five to open the door. After five, we're breaking the door down," the voice from the other side of the door yelled.

Panicking to buy time, Risha called back, "Hold on one second, please. I'm not decent!"

"Well, okay," the man stuttered, "You have one minute then."

"You have some time now. Go. Be safe. Like Sokka said, if anyone dies, it won't be Aang," Risha said.

Aang and Katara went into the cupboard without looking back. Sokka looked back and saw Risha run into her bedroom and come back out in a robe. She had a small object in her hand. She ran over to Sokka. He gave an odd look at the robe. "I had to make it look like I was in a hurry to get dressed," she explained and hand Sokka the item, "In this bag is some food, gold coins, and a token. The token, the next time you see Prince Zuko, show it to him. He'll understand. Take care."

She smiled and hurried over to the door. Sokka closed the door to the cupboard. He looked down the stairs and saw that Katara and Aang were already out of sight. He looked out through the slats on the cupboard door. Risha had answered the door and was talking to the Fire Bender who had been on the other side of the door. It was Prince Zuko. Sokka wasn't about to go down that passageway yet.

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A/N: So far, funnest chapter to write. I love the thought of baby flying bison. And Appa being a daddy. Also, of course I had to make an "I'm not decent" comment. This fic just wouldn't be complete with out one. And, I Finally got reviews! Yah! Reviews!

COMMENTS ON REVIEWS:

_Chapter 1:_

not telling you: Yes, it may be weird how Aang forgot about the money, but I do that all the time. I'll find a dollar, or something, put it in my pocket, and then it goes through the laundry. I'll do the laundry and say, "Look! A dollar!" I put it in my pocket, it goes through the laundry again. One long continous cycle until someone else does laundry and takes the money.

_Chapter 2:_

not telling you: By how I came up with the Koertan, do you mean the name? Or the actual creatures? The answer to both is that I don't really know. No, I didn't get the name Risha from dnangel, as I do not even know what that is. Yes, part of the reason Sokka went out hunting is to introduce Risha, but they did need food. Even if Aang had remembered about the money, I mentioned that the nearest market was out of the way.

_Chapter 3:_

not telling you: A steer is a male of the bovine species that has been casterated. Basically, it's a bull that's been fixed.

_Chapter 4:_

not telling you: He also let her kill it because it was illegal for the Koertan to be killed at that season. Unless it was the proprietor of the forest killing it to cull the sick/old.

_Chapter 5:_

Alicat2315: Thank you! You were my first reviewer. Because of that fact, I will now build a shrine made of wood chips to honor your greatness. Joking. You're still great, though!

not telling you: gasp You've found me out, haven't you? You've realized my plan to take over the world by use of Mary Sues! You've uncovered my plot! Oh! What shall I do now? That was sarcasm, by the by.

A/N: Ok, question to unot telling you/u: I want to know. In all the reviews were you being sarcastic? I believe you were. Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit, you know? I believe I would clearly differentiate the sarcasm from the sincerity if there was proper use of capital letters and punctuation.


	7. Cousins

Story Arc: New Allies 

Part: One- The Lutdeo

Chapter: Seven- Cousins

Author: Fritters-4-Psi

Disclaimer: I do not own the show Avatar: The Last Air Bender or the related characters. Nor do I profit from this fanfiction. The only things of my creation in this fanfiction are the Koertan, Kashi, Risha, and things to come up in later chapters.

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Risha looked up at the tall Fire Nation prince undeterred. There was actually a small smile on her face. Zuko wasn't looking at her. He was reading off of a piece of paper. "By order of the Fire Nation, I am warranted to search your home. I am allowed to do this on the grounds that you might possibly be containing a wanted person or persons. There is nothing that you can do to prevent the search and you do not need to know any further details," Prince Zuko stated in an official manner.

The Fauna Bender's face showed a broad smile. "Cousin, what brings you this way? And what happened to your face? It looks awful," she asked.

"Who are you that dares to call me cousin? I have no live cousins," the Prince said without even looking at Risha.

"No, they aren't. Only one of your cousins is dead. Look. One is still alive," she said.

Zuko looked up in surprise. His favorite cousin, who he had believed had died, was standing before him.

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A/N: Talk about a short chapter... And suspense. 'Live cousins'? Like 'This box contains live animals'?

Reviews:

_Chapter One:_

Zutaratothemax: Thank you so much! It makes me so happy that you're so estatic about my OC! You rock!

_Chapter Six:_

Alicat1215: You're welcome. Oh how great the shrine was! Until my brother sort of used some of it to start the fire... Thanks for reading!


	8. Misinterpretations

Story Arc: New Allies 

Part: One- The Lutdeo

Chapter: Eight- Misinterpretation

Author: Fritters-4-Psi

Disclaimer: I do not own the show Avatar: The Last Air Bender or the related characters. Nor do I profit from this fanfiction. The only things of my creation in this fanfiction are the Koertan, Kashi, Risha, and things to come up in later chapters.

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From behind the slatted cupboard door, Sokka watched the Prince of the Fire Nation. He knew that he should go down the stairs, following his sister and the Avatar. He should make sure that they are okay, and that they stay that way. He knew that Risha was probably completely capable of defending herself. There was something that didn't seem correct about the way that Risha seemed so confident in herself. She was smiling.

The first thought that crossed Sokka's mind was that Risha wanted to die. There she was. Smiling at the Prince of the Fire Nation. The son of the Fire Lord. She was probably standing there mocking him. Waiting to die. Buying time for Aang. Playing a small part in the attempt to save the world. That was the only thought to pass through his mind before he decided what to do.

Through the slatted door of the cupboard, Sokka saw flame go to Zuko's fist. Assuming the worst, he put the false back where it belonged and burst through the door; not noticing the flame that was in Risha's hand, too.

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A/N: Ha, ha! Another short chapter! But seeing how it's Thanksgiving vacation, I'll probably end up updating tomorrow anyway. Don't worry, the next chapter isn't another short one. In other news, Zuko is now one of the Czechs. That's what spell checker told me.

Reviews:

_Chapter One:_

Alicat2315: You rock! You've reviewed for my story each time there's an update!


	9. Armistice

Story Arc: New Allies 

Part: One- The Lutdeo

Chapter: Nine- Armistice

Author: Fritters-4-Psi

Disclaimer: I do not own the show Avatar: The Last Air Bender or the related characters. Nor do I profit from this fanfiction. The only things of my creation in this fanfiction are the Koertan, Kashi, Risha, the concept of the grith coin, and things to come in later chapters.

WARNING: Zuko out-of-characterness. And some under-lying concepts.

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It had been years since the cousins had seen each other; nearing six. Before Risha had left, she and Zuko had a secret handshake-hug that involved their Fire Bending abilities. For old times sake, Zuko said that they should do the handshake-hug. They both had brought fire to their hands and were about to do the handshake-hug, when Sokka burst through the cupboard. Waving his boomerang threateningly, he yelled, "If you want to hurt her, then you'll have to kill me first."

"What could a peasant from a Water tribe do to a Prince of the Fire Nation? Fire is the superior element and I am the superior person. Learn to stay away from fights you can't win," Zuko sneered.

Risha stepped between them. She turned to Zuko, "Cousin, do not hurt him. He is a good friend."

Unexpectedly, a disgusted look crossed Zuko's face. "Risha, how could you? Oh, my . . . I understand what's going on now," Zuko said, receiving an odd look from the others, "It all makes sense now. You two are here, alone. He," --- Zuko pointed to Sokka --- "He is obviously not the respectable type that would wait to be married. You, my dear innocent cousin, were pressured. Then you hear a knock at the door and hear someone yelling. You recognize the voice of your cousin. You throw on a robe and throw him in a cupboard. I can't believe this. If you get pregnant---"

Getting in a fighter's stance, Zuko brought fire to his hands; ready to fight Sokka. Grabbing her cousin's arms and forcing him to lower them, Risha said, "If we had been doing any thing and I did get pregnant, would you want the father of my baby to be dead?"

Finally, Sokka realized what they had been talking about. "I'm a very respectable person, just to let you know. Thoughts like that didn't even enter my mind. That's how respectable I am," Sokka defended himself.

The fire disappeared. Ignoring Sokka, Zuko explained to his cousin, "I'm just trying to protect you."

"And I'm sure you'd do a really great job, if I was actually in trouble. You're not my big brother. You're not even older than I am. I can protect myself," Risha said, "Now. There will no be any fighting in my home. Or on my land."

"But if that Water Tribe peasant is here, then the Avatar can't be far away. I must find the Avatar," Zuko said, "What about torture? Torturing isn't fighting."

"Whoa! Hey, wait a second. There won't be any torture going on," Sokka said.

It was then that Sokka remembered that token that Risha had even him. She had told him to show it to Prince Zuko and he'd understand. After fumbling through the bag, Sokka held up the token. Zuko sighed and rolled his eyes. He walked over to Sokka and extended his hand. "I must respect the gift that I gave my cousin many years ago," Zuko said solemnly.

Reluctantly, Sokka shook his enemy's hand. "Now that, I'm assuming, Prince Zuko isn't going to kill me. What did that token mean?" Sokka asked.

"It's a grith coin. As a good-bye present, Zuko made me, like, fifty. He explained that I was supposed to give them away. Anyone who had them and showed them to Zuko, he'd understand that, during his conquest to conquer the other nations, they were not to be attacked or killed. Because they had a coin, in some way I had befriended them," Risha explained, "Basically, it's a statement of a truce."

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A/N: Grith is actually the Anglo-Saxon word for truce.

2nd A/n: Am I the only one who thought the whole Zuko-acting-like-an-older-brother thing was, although OOC, like the cutest thing? Or am I insane?

3rd A/N: OMG. Weird dream last night. Actually, I had two weird dreams. In one, I found lots of money. There was, like, two hundreds, a ten, and a bunch of ones. And I was at school. Okay, in the second weird dream I was captured by Zuko. And he had like this secret base. He brought me there and locked me up in a stable-type thing. There were some Koertan in the stable, too.

Reviews:

_Chapter Eight:_

Alicat2315: Yeah! you remembered your password!

zutaratothemax: Getting reviews makes me all warm and fuzzy inside.


	10. In The Dark

Story Arc: New Allies 

Part: One- The Lutdeo

Chapter: Ten- In the Dark

Author: Fritters-4-Psi

Disclaimer: I do not own the show Avatar: The Last Air Bender or the related characters. Nor do I profit from this fanfiction. The only things of my creation in this fanfiction are the Koertan, Kashi, Risha, the concept of the grith coin, and things to come in later chapters.

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It was dark in the hallways behind the cupboard. Aang and Katara had thought that, when Risha had given them the directions, that it would only take a matter of moments before they were in the barn. It had to have been five minutes by now. There were a multitude of hallways and turns. And they had no idea where any of them led. Exactly to the T, they had followed the directions; go down the stairs and take the first left. Then they would see another set of stairs and they'd go up those. The thing was, there were no other stairs. "Katara, do you think we're going the right way?" Aang asked.

"Of course we are. First left. No problem," Katara was sure of herself.

"Maybe we should go back and try the first right. We might have been wrong," Aang suggested.

Obviously annoyed, Katara said, "Okay, then. You lead the way, since you obviously know what's going on."

Aang mumbled something beneath his breath, but walked in the opposite direction that they had been going in. Through the maze of hallways, Aang led the expedition. After getting lost or confused several times, they found a set of stairs. "See. I found the barn," Aang said, "Sokka's probably already in here, waiting for us."

Quickly, Aang ran up the stairs and pushed away a panel. He burst through the door, closely followed by Katara. Before him was his enemy; Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation.

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HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

A/N: I bet you thought that the short chapters were over, didn't you?

Reviews

_Chapter Eight_

broken trusts: Thanks for the review! And I know, some people just jump the gun, don't they?

_Chapter Nine_

Alicat2315: Yah! I'm not crazy! There's going to be another update tomorrow, too, probably.

zutaratothemax: Warm and fuzzy is good. Weird dreams are weird, to say in the least.


	11. Part of the Truth

Story Arc: New Allies 

Part: One- The Lutdeo

Chapter: Eleven- Part of the Truth

Author: Fritters-4-Psi

Disclaimer: I do not own the show Avatar: The Last Air Bender or the related characters. Nor do I profit from this fanfiction. The only things of my creation in this fanfiction are the Koertan, Kashi, Risha, the concept of the grith coin, and things to come at later chapters.

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Although an urge to attack had overcome Prince Zuko when he saw the Avatar, he held back. Risha had told him that there'd be no fighting under her roof. He knew his cousin's temper was deadly. The Prince of the Fire Nation remained calm. There was a distinct look of panic on his face that showed that he was fighting the need to attack the Avatar.

Aang created a tornado in the air with his hands. With extreme precision, he threw it at Zuko. He wasn't about to let his new friend get captured by the Fire Nation. Then Aang realized, Sokka was there too. Two of his friends were in danger. A massive gust of wind flew at the Prince. A shield of flames blocked the tornado and the gust. Though the flames were parted by the wind and air, Zuko was unharmed. "Avatar, we must have a temporary truce. This is not my choice. My cousin instructed that there would be no fighting in her home. Risha has befriended you and your Water Tribe companions. She even gave that one a grith coin," Zuko said disgusted.

"How do I know that you're--- Wait? Are you saying Risha's your cousin?" Aang was shocked.

Risha stepped toward Aang. "I would have told you all, but none of you seem to like Fire Benders. It's understandable that Sokka and Katara don't like Fire Benders; their mother was killed by one. Also, understandable for Aang; the Fire Nation is trying to capture him. There I was, all by myself, in the woods. How was I supposed to know if you'd turn your aggressions on me? Of course, when Sokka first said he was from the Water Nation, I almost attacked him," Risha admitted.

"Why would we attack you? You're not a Fire Bender. Just because you're the Prince of the Fire Nation's cousin, doesn't mean that you're from the Fire Nation. And, why did you almost attack me?" Sokka exclaimed.

"Perhaps, I should make some tea. Then you can explain everything, niece," an older voice said from outside the door.

"Uncle Iroh! You're here too!" Risha said, excited, "Good idea. You can make some tea. But fisrt, I need to change out of this robe. Then we can all sit down and exchange some stories. Like what happened to your face, Cousin? I mean no disrespect, but that eye that's surrounded by the scar is odd. The eye, it doesn't move when you move your other eye. There's, apparently, a lot of things that I have missed."

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A/N: I noticed when I was watching The Blue Spirit, for like the 5th time, that Zuko's eye that is surrounded by the burn doesn't move. I still listened and watched the other stuff that was going on, but I consentrated on Zuko's eye. I didn't see it move. His normal eye would move, though. That's abnormal!

Reviews:

_Chapter Ten:_

zutaratothemax:That was the last short chapter for a while! Here's a new update!


	12. The Sister of the Fire Lord

Story Arc: New Allies 

Part: One- The Lutdeo

Chapter: Twelve- The Sister of the Fire Lord

Author: Fritters-4-Psi

Disclaimer: I do not own the show Avatar: The Last Air Bender or the related characters. Nor do I profit from this fanfiction. The only things of my creation in this fanfiction are the Koertan, Kashi, Risha, the concept of the grith coin, Vioniza, and Raven's Watch. Also, possibly other things to come in later chapters.

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Sitting around a giant table, with tea cups in front of them, was Risha, Prince Zuko, General Iroh, Sokka, Katara, and Avatar Aang. The soldiers that Zuko had brought with him were in the barn. Appa was no longer in the barn. He was given leave to wander in the forest and eat. Risha, who was now back in her normal clothes, nervously looked at her newly found friends and wondered if they'd still like her once they learned of her past. "I'll begin by talking about my parents. My father was from the Earth Nation. He wasn't an Earth Bender, but he was a very powerful warrior. My mother was the sister of Fire Lord Ozai. Talk about sibling rivalry. They didn't get along, at all. Vioniza, that's my mother's name, never got a chance to explain to me why she didn't get along with Ozai," Risha started her story.

"I don't know the whole reason, but part of the reason was Ozai thought he was neglected as a child. Vioniza was the youngest, and the only girl. Our mother favored her more over Ozai. She thought that she could turn Vioniza into one of those women who spent all day being a lady at the court. Wearing dresses, curtsying, being polite and dainty. Risha, your mother enjoyed none of those things," Iroh explained, "She was Father's little girl with a warrior's heart. Once, when Father had been in his cups, he said that if he had to choose that day which one of us was to be his heir, it would be Vioniza. When our mother wasn't teaching her the ways of a lady, she was out training. Father always watched over her, critiquing her. Under his vigilant eye, she became a powerful Fire Bender and powerful with many other weapons."

"I thought that my aunt had only been a lady of the court," Zuko stated.

"When she was older, yes. That's how everyone remembers her. They remember her as that because that's how my brother wants her to be remembered. He doesn't want anyone to think that there was another Fire Bender that possibly could match him," Iroh stated, "Our mother died five years before Father did. That was when he began to distance himself from Vioniza. She reminded him too much of our mother. Her looks and her fighting style had both been inherited from our mother. Ozai was the least like our mother. It was he, when Father was on his death bed, that was chosen as the heir to the Fire Nation."

"It was also on my grandfather's death bed that he said that if my mother wanted to be in the Fire Nation army, no one had the right to deny her," Risha said, "My mother believed in the Fire Nation's cause and joined the army. Even though she was of royalty, she started at the bottom rank. Quickly, she worked her way up. It was when she became a colonel that she was allowed her own host of soldiers to command; twenty men and herself."

"I do not mean to interject, but I believe I can tell this part better. You weren't around yet, so I have a first hand experience," Iroh stated, and Risha nodded, "That host became legendary. It even earned itself its own title; Raven's Watch. Vioniza had watched the ravens and saw how they functioned. When they flew, there was the main group, one or two others on the left and right sides in the trees keeping an eye on things, and one flying slightly behind the others. Vioniza copied the ways that ravens travel. The person behind the main group was always the strongest, and it was always her. The enemy would think that the one straggling behind would be the weakest, but they would be wrong. Fire Lord Ozai always sent Raven's Watch on the most difficult missions. Ozai was always mad when there were casualty reports, if there ever were, Vioniza was never on them."

"One of the missions my mother was sent on, the entire host was captured by some Earth Nation troops. In the fighting, before their capture, my mother was knocked unconscious. She woke and saw an Earth Nation warrior. He explained what happened. She had been involved in some fighting and been hit on the head. While it was ordered that the rest of her host be killed, she was to be left alive. Chivalry, apparently, isn't dead in the Earth Nation. The thing was, during the rest of Raven's Watch's execution, the Fire Nation troops had managed to kill most of the opposing Earth Nation troops. The Earth Nation warrior was one of three that weren't killed," Risha explained.

"No one knows much of what happened after that. Upon her return to the Fire Nation, Vioniza explained that she had been treated extremely kindly by the Earth Nation warrior. Everyone was shocked that she had brought him with her, and not as a prisoner, but as a guest," Iroh stated, "It was a year before they married."

"My mother and father rebuilt Raven's Watch and went on missions together. For five years everything was going great for Raven's Watch, but then my mother announced that she was pregnant. It was a boy. They named him Teyo. While my father commanded Raven's Watch, my mother stayed at home and took care of my older brother. She still stayed in shape by going to the training grounds and working with the younger Fire Benders, teaching them. Teyo obviously couldn't go with my mother if she went on a mission and she didn't feel comfortable leaving him home with a nurse, so she stayed with him," Risha said.

"And then, six years after Teyo was born," Iroh said, "Guess who came along? It was little baby Risha. Ozai wasn't very fond of her, though. While Teyo looked like a regular Fire Bender, Risha had light brown hair and greenish-yellow eyes. She looked more like someone from the Earth Nation, then from the Fire Nation."

"I bet you were a cute baby," Sokka said, mockingly.

"She was. But she had a thing against clothes for a few years. Vioniza had the hardest time getting her to wear clothes, so after a while she gave up and let her not wear any," Iroh said.

"Okay, we don't need to talk about when I was really little. There's nothing interesting there," Risha quickly changed the subject, "I was six and my brother twelve, when my mother decided to go on a mission with Raven's Watch. Ozai had assigned what he claimed to be a simple task. Teyo begged and begged to be allowed to go. Our mother let him. I stayed behind with my father."

Risha looked down, but looked back up with a decisive look on her face. She was getting to the part in her life when everything seemed to go bad almost all at once. It was always hard for her to think about, let alone discuss it. "A week after they left, a report came back. Everything seemed to be going fine. Another week passed, another report came. Ozai called an assembly. Saying all that cared for Vioniza should attend. My father and I went. There Ozai stated that Vioniza and her twelve-year-old son had died at the hand of some pirates. While the attendees were sad, there was something in Ozai's voice that had a sound of triumph," a tear rolled down Risha's face, "My father and I stayed in the Fire Nation, but he never associated with Raven's Watch again. Something had died with him when my mother and brother had died."

Noticing the faltering tone in Risha's voice, Iroh spoke up, "Risha lived with her father for the rest of her time in the Fire Nation. He distanced himself from everything, though. He was still a good father, but he was never the same."

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A/N: Okay, I'll be the first to admit that I dodn't really like this chapter. Just they way it turned out, irks me.

Reviews:

_Chapter Eleven:_

Alicat2315: Thanks! Here's an even longer chapter!


	13. Dinner

Story Arc: New Allies 

Part: One- The Lutdeo

Chapter: Thirteen- Dinner

Author: Fritters-4-Psi

Disclaimer: I do not own the show Avatar: The Last Air Bender or the related characters. Nor do I profit from this fanfiction. The only things of my creation in this fanfiction are the Koertan, Kashi, Risha, the concept of the grith coin, Vioniza, and Raven's Watch. Also, things that may possibly come in later chapters.

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Katara wasn't sure if anyone else noticed, but she had. Risha had that wide-eyed expression of being lost and alone. The expression that signified the line between keeping control and bursting out crying. "Is anyone else hungry?" Katara asked, and received nods, "Sokka, why don't you make dinner?"

"Wait. You want me to cook?" an unbelieving Sokka asked, "You know, I just eat the food, not make it."

She gave her brother a glare. "I mean, of course you want me to cook. I know how to make food, not just eat it," Sokka said.

"There's a cook book in the book case on the wall over there," Risha pointed, "You should be able to find everything you need in the house or in storage. Zuko, why don't you help him?"

The Prince started to argue, but Risha interrupted him. "The least you can do is get the fire started for him," she sighed.

While Zuko and Sokka swapped glares and began to argue, Katara took Risha off to the side of the room. "Are you going to be okay?" Katara asked.

Risha looked over to the kitchen area. Sokka was holding the cook book up to Zuko and pointing at the pages, saying something inaudible. She then looked over to the table and watched Aang and Iroh having an in-depth conversation about the different qualities of tea. The Fauna Bender let out a small laugh. "I think I'm going to be fine," she said.

"Either way, I think you should hold off on the rest of your tale until tomorrow. We can have dinner and then, I don't know," Katara said.

"After dinner, I always check on Kashi and see if the dogs have anything to report," Risha explained, "While I do that, all of you can probably stay here and talk. Zuko would have to come with me though. He's always true to his word, unless under extreme circumstances. I'm not sure, but he must have a better reason than all the other people trying to capture the Avatar. I haven't seen him in five, six years, but I've never seen him so determined."

Despite their differences, Zuko and Sokka managed to work together long enough to put together a decent meal. This, by no means, meant that they were friends. On the table, was a giant slab of meat from a Koertan cooked medium-rare, it, of course, was as far away from Aang as it could be. There was also a wide range of fruits and vegetables. In short, it could be described as a small feast.

Talk at the table started out with the normal topics. The weather, how the crops are growing, the price of things at market. The conversation took an odd turn when Risha asked Katara how she put her hair up like that. Everyone, except the Fauna Bender, laughed at the comment. "Seriously, though. How do you do it? It looks amazing," Risha stated.

"If you're not in too much of a hurry to finish eating, I can show you now. I can try to fix your hair the same way," Katara suggested.

Risha nodded excitedly at the idea and the two teenage girls went into Risha's room, where there was a mirror, and shut the door. "I've known Katara for the fourteen years that she's been alive, and I still don't understand her," Sokka said through a mouth full of food, "I don't know why either of them would let their food get cold just to fix their hair."

"You know, they say: 'What's good for the goose is good for the gander.'" Iroh stated a proverb, "But that isn't true when the gander thinks he has better hair than the goose."

"Hey, are you saying I've got bad hair?" Sokka asked suspiciously.

"There's no need to think it over. It's just a simple proverb. Have some tea. It will ease your mind," Iroh conveyed.

The general of the Fire Nation went to get a cup of water and heated it with self-created steam. "What type of tea would you like? My niece has ginseng, chai, thyme, anise, rosemary, basil, fennel, ginger, and bonset. She must drink a lot of tea to have so many kinds," Iroh said.

"I'd like bonset tea, please," Sokka stated.

Iroh crushed the leaves and let them sink to the bottom of the cup. With a spoon and some sugar, he handed the tea to Sokka, who added two spoonfuls of sugar. After stirring the tea, he took a sip. "You know, you were right, General Iroh. This tea did ease my mind," Sokka commented.

"Thank you, but there's no need to use titles now. Just call me Iroh," the general stated.

Sokka nodded and took another sip of tea. He saw Aang looking at him, so he offered the cup for him to take a sip. Aang shook his head and motioned over to Risha's bedroom door. There was Risha leaning against the wall. She was in an area with shadows so they couldn't see her hair. "Who knows how long it took you all to notice I was over here?" Risha asked, "I know. It was five minutes. It shames me to know how unobservant you all are."

Followed by Katara, Risha stepped out of the shadows, walked over to the table, and sat down. "Your hair doesn't look like Katara's does," Aang noticed.

Risha's hair wasn't put up at all. It hung a few inches below her chin. "As you can see, I have short hair. It's far to short to have it like Katara's is," Risha explained, and then continued to eat her meal, "Gah. My meat is cold. Katara, is your meat cold, too?"

The Water Bender nodded. Suddenly, there was fire in Risha's hand. Slowly, she lowered it next to her plate. The food instantly reheated. Katara handed her plate to Risha. Then Risha did the same as before. "Your Bending has gotten better since I last saw you," Zuko commented.

"I've had a lot of time to practice," Risha replied.

"Wait! What? I thought you were a Fauna Bender!" Sokka exclaimed.

"And that is a part of my story that shall be explained tomorrow," Risha said.

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A/N: Iroh's proverb's don't make any sense to me on the show, so why make them make sense in a fanfic? Am I right? And sorry for not updating sooner. Last weekend my brother hogged the CPU and all of the past week I've been sick.

Reviews

_Chapter Twelve_

Tallis Nightly: I'm so sorry that your dad died! -gives Tallis lots of chocolate- Zutara begins in next chapter!


	14. Remembering the Past

Story Arc: New Allies 

Part: One- The Lutdeo

Chapter: Fourteen- Remembering the Past

Author: Fritters-4-Psi

Disclaimer: I do not own the show Avatar: The Last Air Bender or the related characters. Nor do I profit from this fanfiction. The only things of my creation in this fanfiction are the Koertan, Kashi, Risha, the concept of the grith coin, Vioniza, Raven's Watch, and Kali. Other possible thing to come in later chapters.

WARNING! More Zuko OOCness! WARNING!

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Soon, everyone finished their dinners. Katara insisted that she would do the dishes. It would be easier for her to do them because she was a Water Bender. She could only wash the dishes, though. That's when Zuko offered to dry them. Risha was unsure of what to think of that. Her cousin could be kind, but his way of showing kindness really wasn't drying dishes.

While the dishes were being completed, Risha stared at Sokka sitting at the table. He was glaring intently at her cousin and she felt more than a little uneasy about it. The hairs on the back of Sokka's neck stood up; he was being watched. He turned around, seeing Risha looking at him. "Is there anything on your mind that you would like to discuss?" she asked, "Like, why you are glaring at my cousin like you are going to kill him?"

She heard a small sigh. "It's nothing," Sokka insisted, "Except, up until a few hours ago, the three of us, Aang, Katara, and me, had feared Zuko. Aang is still weary about him. No offense, but I still don't trust him at all, even after we had to make dinner together. And Katara's over there, it looks like joking with him."

Over at the sink, it did seem like the two Benders were enjoying themselves. Zuko had a slight smirk on his face and Katara was laughing. "For all we know, this is just part of a plan for Zuko to capture Aang and turn him over to the Fire Nation," Sokka stated, "He could be gaining Katara's trust, only to entrap her on his ship. Then Aang and I will go to rescue her and Zuko will capture Aang."

"He won't. Trust me. I know him. He's more tactful than that," Risha explained, "Besides, you have a grith coin. That will ensure your safety."

Sokka pulled the round token out of his pocket. It was a simple thing, made of wood with red painted designs. "Only I have a grith coin though," Sokka said, "Judging from what you said, each coin only protects one person. What about Katara and Aang?"

"Don't worry about it. I'll give them each a grith coin if it makes you feel better," Risha suggested.

"I guess it makes a little difference," Sokka sighed.

Katara walked over to the table. "The dishes are done," she announced, "What now?"

"Like I mentioned to you before, I always check on Kashi after dinner. So that's what I'm going to do," Risha stated.

"Do you want me to come with you?" Sokka asked.

"No, thank you, though. I haven't seen Zuko in nearly six years. I think that I'll have him come with me," she explained, "I have a Pai Sho table over there. You're welcome to use it."

"I would be honored to go with you, Cousin. I need to check on the men anyway," Zuko said.

Together, the two cousins walked out the door. Remaining in the house was Sokka, Katara, Aang, and Iroh. The latter of which was teaching the three formers to play Pai Sho. "The object of this game," Iroh began, "To put it simply, is to win."

The cousins laughed, knowing that Iroh's explanation of Pai Sho would be vague, at its best. The pair walked in silence for a short while. It had been so long since they had seen each other. So many things had happened. One thing Risha was particularly interested in. "Zuko, when I was eleven, I was exiled. I hadn't seen you again until today. I would remember a scar like that," she pointed to his burn scar, "You didn't have that when I left. What happened?"

"Do you remember how we used to try to sneak into the council chambers? When all the old generals would talk war plans?" Zuko asked.

"Of course, I remember. We always had these plans to get in. Wasn't one that we'd make a hole in the ceiling and we'd lower ourselves down on a rope?" Risha snickered, "We never made it in."

Zuko looked off, deep into the forest. In the distance, to large white figures could be seen. The figures were walking slowly toward the barn, the same place Risha and Zuko were going. As they neared, the two white silhouettes turned out to be the flying bison, Appa and Kashi. "Hold on one second," Risha said and then walked over to the flying bison.

Even from a distance, Zuko could still hear what Risha was saying. "You two seem to have gotten awfully close. I hope I don't have to worry about there being little bison calves in a year and a half," Risha scolded, "I'm sorry to say, but the barn is being occupied. Both of you will have to stay out in the woods. Kashi, you know where there's good shelter. Show Appa one place and then, go find a different place."

Risha watched as the two massive creatures turned around and headed into the forest. She then walked back over to Zuko. "If I didn't know you, I'd say you are crazy. Normal people don't talk to animals in the way that you do. You know? Like they're actual people," Zuko commented.

"Well, you know that I'm not a normal person. I don't have to talk out loud to them anymore. I only do that when I need to get a point across. Kashi's worrying me. She's gotten way to close to that bull. I just hope that she hasn't been bred. Flying bison carry their calves for a year and a half. She'd be nine and a half when she calved. I hoped that she wouldn't get bred until she was ten, if I was able to find another flying bison. She's just too young," Risha was worried.

The Prince of the Fire Nation laughed. "Do you know who you sound like?" Zuko asked, and Risha shook her head, "You sound like Kali, the nurse. She was all sorts of worried about you when you were exiled. I can remember her going on for hours about how you would get yourself pregnant because you weren't at home. Or that you would some how manage to walk yourself off a cliff. It was bad."

"I do not sound like Kali!" Risha scoffed, "I don't sound like her."

Zuko looked at the two bison lumbering out into the forest. "I'm guessing that it was Kashi that I saw earlier?" He asked.

"I was wondering about that. I was planning to use myself as a decoy, to lead the Fire Nation troops, who turned out to be your troops, away from the Avatar. But you didn't follow," Risha said.

"I noticed several things when I saw the flying bison. It was flying north. The Avatar has just come from the north. Why would he go back? The other thing was, Kashi doesn't look the same as the other bison. She's smaller, for one. And her markings are different," Zuko explained.

"I guess I'm not as strategic as I thought I was," Risha joked, "So, how did you get that scar?"

"It was two years ago. I asked Uncle Iroh if I could go into the council chambers and listen to the war plans. He was worried, but he let me on the condition that I wouldn't speak," Zuko sighed, "There I was, sitting, listening to all the old generals talk war plans. One of them was talking about this plan to use a host of the newer soldiers as decoys. They were going to let all the men die! I told the old generals what I thought of it. I was then challenged to Angi Kai."

"They were going to have you fight an old man? Who had one foot in the grave?" Risha laughed.

"That's what I though, as well. Seeing how I spoke out of turn in my father's war chamber, he was my opponent. It was cruel to think that I would fight my own father! I couldn't do it. Father called me weak. I was exiled. Until I capture the Avatar, I cannot return home," Zuko looked down, "I don't even know what happened to the host of men."

"Wow . . . " Risha said slowly, "I know what happened to the host . . . They were used as a decoy. Every single one of them died."

"How do you know this?" Zuko asked.

"The animals, they bring me news," Risha said, "Now, let's go make sure your men haven't redecorated the inside of my barn."

Zuko nodded and they walked over to the barn. The men, it seemed, were all asleep. Also, thankfully, they hadn't redecorated the barn. The soldiers had been extremely respectful of Risha's property. Together, Risha and Zuko left the barn. Once outside, Risha asked her cousin, "Can I ask you question if you'll promise that you won't get angry at me?"

The Prince nodded. "While you were drying the dishes, you and Katara seemed pretty close. Is there a reason for that?"

Zuko looked as if someone had caught him going to the bathroom. "Well, you see. She's a nice girl. And we realized that we have a lot in common," Zuko stammered, but regained his composure, "You see, we both lost our mother's at a fairly young age. Both of our father's didn't get to spend a lot of time with us when we were younger because of the war. The main difference is, Katara's father actually wanted to spend time with her."

"And a big difference between you two should be obvious. You're a Fire Bender. She's a Water Bender. We all know what happens when fire and water mix. The fire dies and the water evaporates. It would never work between you two," Risha reminded Zuko.

"Okay, Kali," Zuko teased, "Beside, who said anything about a relationship beyond a friendship?"

"Honestly, Zuko. Katara told me about that necklace of hers. You found it and kept it for quite a while. Why else hold onto it? It could have sold for quite a lot," Risha said plainly, "You like Katara, don't you? There's no need to tell me if you do or you don't. All that matters are your actions."

With that, Risha turned to the house. Dumbfounded for a second or so, Zuko stood there. Soon, though, he followed his cousin to the house, thinking about what she said.

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Okay, because I love you all, and I don't know when I'll be able to get on again to update, here's a second update. Two updates in one day! Whoot!

A/N: Who else loves the saying "One foot in the grave"? I know I do. Oh, I knew I'd run into trouble for where the plot of my fanfic was going and where the actual plot of the actual show was going. I wrote this chapter before the season finale. After seeing the season finale, I have no idea how Katara and Zuko could over come their differences and have a relationship. In my eyes, most likely, all possiblities of Zutara are dead. But what do I know? I'm not one of the writers of the show. Maybe there'll be some stunning revelation. Anywho, this is still going to be a fanfic with Zutara in it.


	15. Thanks

Story Arc: New Allies 

Part: One- The Lutdeo

Chapter: Fifteen- Thanks

Author: Fritters-4-Psi

Disclaimer: I do not own the show Avatar: The Last Air Bender or the related characters. Nor do I profit from this fanfiction. The only things of my creation in this fanfiction are the Koertan, Kashi, Risha, the concept of the grith coin, Vioniza, Raven's Watch, and Kali. Other possible thing to come in later chapters.

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When Risha and Zuko entered the house, the mantel had a roaring fire beneath it. Also, the lamps hanging on the walls were lit. It was quiet. In front of the fireplace, Aang and Iroh were playing a game of Pai Sho. Sokka was sitting on a nearby chair, flipping through a book. It seemed as though Katara had already gone to bed. Suddenly, Aang jumped up and yelled, "I beat you! I finally beat you! I got double back what I lost!"

"You've done very well, for someone who hasn't played in more than one hundred years," Iroh commented.

Regaining his composure, Aang bowed to Iroh. "You have been a great mentor for helping me relearn this game," Aang said.

Absent-mindedly, Sokka turned a page of the book and said, "Hey, can you two keep it down? I'm trying to read."

A yawn could be heard from where Zuko was. Risha looked at her cousin, seeing his mouth wide mid-yawn. She realized that she was also tired. A yawn escaped from her mouth as well. "How about we all go to bed?" Risha suggested.

Everyone nodded in agreement, except for Sokka who seemed absorbed in the book. "Yeah, you go ahead. I'm going to read for a while," he stated.

Risha subconsciously ignored Sokka. "We seem to have a problem. There's only five rooms and six people. Katara, obviously, already has her own room. As do I," Risha said, "Each room does have more than bed, though. Looks like two people are going to have to bunk together. Zuko, it looks like you may have to share a room with Uncle Iroh."

With a blank look on his face, Zuko replied, "You saw what we ate tonight. You know what happens when Uncle Iroh eats lots of green vegetables. I wouldn't want to subject anyone to that. Even that Water Tribe peasant."

Sokka was about to tell Zuko his two cents, but he was interrupted. "Okay, so no one is going to bunk with Uncle Iroh," Risha sighed, "That leaves two other rooms. And you, my dear cousin, obviously, can't stay in the same room alone with Sokka or Aang, so you get your own room."

All of them, especially Risha, were stumped on how to solve this. There was one room left and two people. "I could stay out here," Sokka suggested, "I want to continue reading this book, anyway."

There were general remarks of agreement. They said their goodnights and went off into their own rooms, leaving Sokka near the fireplace by himself. It was quiet and slightly on the dark side. The fire and lamps seemed to give off just enough light to read by. The book Sokka was reading was extremely intriguing. The tome was, clearly, on the older side. The pages were worn and the cover was tattered. These damages took nothing away from the contents of the book. It spoke of an ancient race of Benders who could Bend shadows, also allowing them to change themselves. Everyone saw the Shadow Benders to be evil to work with that dark discipline. Of course, this race of Shadow Benders was only a myth. No one had ever seen one in the course of all written history. It was just a folk tale, used to keep young children from snooping around outside at night.

One by one, the lamps went out. Sokka assumed that the source that kept the lights on, be it a candle wick or oil, was depleted. Soon, only one lamp and the fire were still going. The light to read by, long ago had vanished. Sokka marked his place in the book, setting it down. The fire died suddenly. A few moments went by. A draft blew through the open room, distinguishing the final lamp. There was complete darkness.

It was quite possible that Sokka had heard footsteps, but brushed it off. It had to be late by now, he was going to sleep. As quickly as the fire had died, it came back to life. Sitting on the Pai Sho table, in front of the fire, was Risha. "Remember, oh, what must be two or three days ago? When I found you by that mother Koertan calving? I had you pull the calf out while I was helping the mother," she reminded him.

Sokka sat up and looked at Risha. She was wearing the robe, which she wore earlier that day to trick the Fire Nation troops that turned out to be under the command of her cousin. In the haste of evacuating Risha's house through a secret passageway, Sokka hadn't noticed how beautiful the robe was. It was black, gold trim, with dark red spirals that formed several Fauna Kinship insignias. "Yeah, of course I remember," Sokka replied.

"You've been wondering what it was, exactly, that I had done to 'help' the mother Koertan," Risha stated, "I never really told you and your friends what a Fauna Bender can do. Yes, I have told you some of the things I've done with my abilities, but that wasn't saying specifically what a Fauna Bender does. Like I told you before, the mother Koertan wasn't pushing the calf out. Talking to her, coaching her through calving, wasn't working."

"You talked to her? I didn't hear you say anything," Sokka was confused.

"I can talk to the animals through extrasensory perception. I can speak with them with thoughts," Risha explained, "As I was saying, the mother wasn't pushing. She wasn't even having contractions. It's one thing to pull a calf when the mother is actually trying . . . When they aren't and you try to pull the calf, the mother might prolapse. There was only one thing I could do. I had to take over her thought and action pattern. When I entered her mind, Shima — that's her name --- had to subdue to my control. In a sense, I became her. I felt the pain she felt while giving birth. I saw what she saw. I was in control and I made her start pushing the calf out. Thankfully, I didn't die in the process. That pain was almost unbearable."

"Wait. So you're telling me you can control animals? As well as talk to them? You entered her mind, knowing that it would be dangerous to you, to save Shima and her calf?" Sokka asked.

Risha nodded. "Yes, I did. If it wasn't for you, I'm sure I would have died. Sokka, if you hadn't been there, I would have had to pull the calf and deal with the pain I had to face while controlling Shima. You really helped save three live that day. Not only two," Risha stated.

Slowly, the light of the fire began to dim. Risha stood and started to walk away. She had gotten a few feet away when she stopped. The fire dimmed even more. The Fauna Bender turned back around to face Sokka. Gingerly, she walked toward him. Leaning forward slightly, Risha kissed Sokka lightly on the cheek. "Thanks for saving the Koertans' lives," she thanked him, "And of course, saving my life, as well."

Once again, she turned to go to her room. She was stopped by Sokka gently grabbing her arm. He pulled her to him and kissed her on the mouth. She returned the kiss, but backed away after a few moments. Slightly short of breath, she said, "Goodnight Sokka. Sleep well."

The Fauna Bender got up and walked toward her room. Half way there, she looked over her shoulder and smiled at Sokka. He smiled in return, with a small wave. The Water Tribe warrior lay down and wondered if he would sleep that night. The fire flickered back to life, allowing enough light to read by. Sokka grabbed the book, hoping that reading would tire his eyes and he could sleep.

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Warning: This Author's Note contains spoilerness for the season finale. In case you haven't seen it, that is.

A/N: Okay, kind of an odd chapter to write. For the longest times I put off deciding if Sokka and Risha would fall for each other. I thought if they did, it would make the story too Mary-Sue-ish. It still might be too mush like a Mary-Sue story. I thought that Sokka not realizeing that he likes Risha until a later chapter would make it less of a Mary-Sue story. Who knows? This was also written before the season finale aired, so... Yeah... I totally understand if people completely spazz about this chapter, saying it's a load of crap and that after Yue, well you know, died, Sokka would never look at another girl again. Like I said, though, I wrote this before the finale aired so I would of had no way of knowing that Yue died. I never really thought the Sokka/Yue relationship was going to work, but I didn't think it would end because she was dead!

Reviews

_Chapter Thirteen_

Tallis Nightly: I know! It always seems that Katara has no female friends! I hope your story turns out good so that she can have female friends in the fanfic world!

_Chapter Fourteen_

Half-elf: I've never heard that saying before. It's so awesome, though! It makes me laugh.


	16. A Reunion

Story Arc: New Allies 

Part: One- The Lutdeo

Chapter: Sixteen- A Reunion

Author: Fritters-4-Psi

Disclaimer: I do not own the show Avatar: The Last Air Bender or the related characters. Nor do I profit from this fanfiction. The only things of my creation in this fanfiction are the Koertan, Kashi, Risha, the concept of the grith coin, Vioniza, Raven's Watch, and Kali. Other possible thing to come in later chapters.

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Roughly an hour before dawn, Risha woke. She lay in bed for a short while, wondering what to do. Who could she tell that she and Sokka had kissed? She could tell Uncle Iroh, but that would be awkward. After all, he was an elderly man, who although she was related to him, she hadn't seen him in almost six years. Katara would definatly think it was odd,not to mention disturbing, that Risha had kissed Katara's brother. Aang would be too young to fully comprehend what was going on. It seemed as though the only person she could tell was the one person she had hoped wouldn't find out. Zuko was the only one she could tell that she had kissed Sokka.

Figuring that there was no time like the present, Risha put on her robe and left her room. The previous night, Zuko slept in one of the rooms down stairs. Slowly, Risha snuck to her cousin's room. The door opened with out a sound. She looked around in the grey light given off by the setting moon. Zuko wasn't in the room.

With a sigh, Risha decided that she would tell her cousin later. The decision was, what did she do now? She knew she wouldn't be able to get back to sleep. She walked over to the window in her cousin's room. Judging by the position of the rising sun, it was nearly daybreak. It was almost time for her to feed Kashi and set some salt out for the Koertan, so she headed out side.

The air was crisp and there was dew on the ground. Risha walked briskly across the lawn to the barn, where the hay, grain and salt licks were. She went to open the door, but then remembered that there were all those soldiers in there. All of her life in the Fire Nation's capital, she had been wary of soldiers. No harm had ever been inflicted on her by soldiers, but there was just something about them that made her skin crawl. Silently, she called to one of her dogs.

In a matter of moments, a dog came. "Okay, Ragu," she whispered to the dog, "I need your assistance."

Ragu's tails twitched, it was listening. So she continued, "I don't want you to attack the soldiers in there. I only want to to follow me. That's all you have to do. Unless, you think that I'm in trouble. If you percieve the actions of the soldiers as harmful, then please protect me from them."

A long, forked tongue lolled out of the dog's mouth. Ragu's voice entered Risha's mind, 'Mistress, of course, I'll protect you. Would you expect anything less? You've protected my family and I before. I should repay the favor.'

After hugging Ragu, Risha slowly opened the barn door. She had hoped that when she entered the building, the soldiers would be asleep. No such luck, though. All of them were awake, looking toward the open door. When they saw Risha, they bowed. The man who seemed to be in charge, approached her. "Good morning, your Highness," the man said.

Ragu stepped out from behind Risha's legs. He barred his teeth in warning. "I'm confused now," Risha admitted, "Most Fire Nation troops don't know who I am. Let alone know that I'm royalty. Who are you?"

"Why would I assume that you would remember me, Risha? It has been a very long time since I've seen you. I was out fighting four years before you were exiled," the man stated.

A look of surprise and enjoyment crossed the Fauna Bender's face. "Ji? Is that you?" she asked excitedly, "Whoa... It's been almost ten years since I last saw you."

"It's Luitenint Ji, now," he corrected her, "The last time I saw you was right before I was sent off to battle. You were so saddened that your adoptive uncle was leaving the Fire Nation."

"Of course, I was sad. Kali always made you go with her, when you were younger, to take care of Teyo and me. You were just as helpful as your mom was. They blamed your influence for my incompetence," Risha glared, "So they decided to send you off to war once you were old enough."

"My mother always made sure that you were taken care of as if you were one of her own children. It was dreadfully boring being almost sixteen had having to be dragged along to act as a nurse to spoiled, brats of royalty," Ji joked, "I take it you came into the barn to get feed for your animals?"

Risha nodded. Ji motioned for her to look behind him. Half of the soldiers had armfuls of hay. The other half had buckets full of grain or salt. On the luitenent's command, the soldiers marched out of the barn. Risha instructed them to put the salt in the tubs on the paths in the forest. The grain and the hay would be put in the feeders hanging on the side of the barn. "So now you give orders to my soldiers?"

Behind her, was her cousin, who was smirking. He was leaning on the door frame, holding a small buquet of wild flowers in his hand. Immediatly, she knew where her cousin had gone that morning. He had gone off into the forest to collect flowers to give to Katara. "Taking my advice, are you my cousin?" she asked him, "And letting your actions speak for you?"

A crossroads had been reached. One of two things would happen if she told Zuko about her kissing Sokka. Either her cousin's seemingly good mood would diteriorate, making him very angry. Or his joyous mood would make the issue at hand not seem so bad. If the kiss had actually meant something, then her and Sokka's actions would probably show that something had happened. Risha decided that she would wait to tell Zuko.

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A/N: Okay, incase it wasn't clear, I decided Ji is the son of Kali. Kali being the nurse that took care of Risha and Zuko when they were little (see; Chapter 14). Many of you may be wondering why I named the dog Ragu. As in Ragu Express, that noodley stuff. You see, Ragu was originally named Yagu. I realized that it sounded a lot like Ragu. I am extremely amused by Ragu Express when it is microwaved, so I changed his name.

Okay. Next week is Christmas, so I don't know how/when I'll update. I go away for Christmas break, but there's a computer where I go, so I'll try and update.


	17. Knifed to a Tree

Story Arc: New Allies 

Part: One- The Lutdeo

Chapter: Seventeen- Knifed to a Tree

Author: Fritters-4-Psi

Disclaimer: I do not own the show Avatar: The Last Air Bender or the related characters. Nor do I profit from this fanfiction. The only things of my creation in this fanfiction are the Koertan, Kashi, Risha, the concept of the grith coin, Vioniza, Raven's Watch, and Kali. Other possible thing to come in later chapters.

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It was quiet, but no longer dark, as the dawn had just arrived a few moments before. Katara lay in one of the rooms that was in the second floor of Risha's house. She had slept relatively well the previous night. Other than waking up once, she had stayed asleep through the night.

When she had gone to bed the night before, she lay down and went right to sleep. It was so nice to finally have a comfortable place to rest. Normally, she, her brother, and Aang would have had to leave right off, when they found a nice place to stay. By a small chance of luck, though, Risha was the cousin of Prince Zuko, who had been tracking them ever since they had left the South Pole. They really wouldn't have to worry about the Fire Nation Prince catching up to them.

The Fire Nation Prince . . . Katara had never had time, whenever she saw him, to think that he might be struggling as well. Or even that the two of them had so much in common. Both of their mothers had died as a result of the war. Both of them had been eight when their mothers had died. Their fathers had been greatly involved in the war. Although, the elements they controlled were greatly contrasted, they were both Benders.

After washing the dishes with him the night before, he didn't seem like that bad a person. He had a nice, if not bizarre, sense of humor. She never would have expected that of someone who had grown up around death, war, and destruction. There was also something added to his handsome features by that scar of his. She had to admit, he was quite good looking.

Dawn had come. Not used to sleeping long after that, Katara got out of bed. She wore a set of sleep clothes that she had borrowed from Risha's drawer. The subtle greens and browns showed the Fauna Bender's Earth Nation heritage. She walked over to the window, pulling back the blinds that dimmed the newly risen sun.

Outside, the wind blew a slight breeze through the budding leaves of a nearby tree. The tree was a pink-blossom cherry tree. In a few weeks, the branches would be full of pink flowers. Katara stared at the tree, imagining what it would look like. That is when she noticed a piece of paper attached to a branch by a knife. The tree was near enough to the house that the branch with the paper seemed to lead right up to the window.

Katara pulled open the window. She was going to get the paper and see what it said, if it said anything at all. Leaning out the window, she grabbed the branch. Carefully, still holding onto the branch, she launched herself out the window, landing on top of the branch. The paper wasn't far, probably only four or five feet away. Slowly, she inched herself forward. Katara knew better than to look down. She had to have been almost twenty feet from the ground. If she looked down, it was very certain that fear would grip her, causing her to fall.

A few long moments passed before she reached the paper. The knife that held it to the branch was clearly of Fire Nation make. The Water Bender grabbed the knife, pulling hard. Accidently, she had over compensated, pulling on the knife too hard. When it became unstuck in the wood, Katara almost lost her balance. Quickly, she latched onto the branch. It was a matter of seconds before her heart returned to its normal pace. She grabbed the paper and scurried back inside through the window.

Once inside, Katara rested for a few minutes. Then, she looked at the paper. Indeed, it did have writing on it. Of course, some of the letters were obscured by where the knife had been holding it to the branch. She read the note.

_Katara,_

_I hope you find this note before too long. At the current, it is roughly an hour and a half before dawn. Meet me three-fourths of an hour after dawn. I shall be waiting for you behind the barn. A lovely day to you._

_Zuko_

Katara had to reread the note several times before she realized what this meant. Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation wanted to see her. Always a little on the paranoid side, she wondered if Zuko would ever dare to betray his cousin's trust. Would he ignore Risha's wishes and attack? She brushed off the thought, though. He had been very friendly the previous night. Why would his mind set change so quickly?

The sundial that was mounted on one of the tree's other branches told her that it had been one-quarter of an hour since dawn. There was still thirty minutes before Zuko expected her to meet him behind the barn. All at once, several thoughts entered her mind. If the Prince's actions were genuine, and he really did care for her, how would that effect others? Katara knew that Aang had held a torch for her for a while. He would, undoubtably, be crushed if she began a relationship with one of the people who was trying to kill him. In the short time that they had known each other, she and Risha had become quite good friends, despite the age difference. Katara knew that she would think it odd if Risha hooked up with Sokka. Her brother. She knew that Sokka absolutely hated Zuko.

She, herself, was also included of the list of effected people. Katara wasn't even sure if she felt anything, but a friendship for the Fire Bender. He had, after all, attacked her at the North Pole. That was the past, though. She weighed it out in her mind and she still wasn't sure what she thought. However, she did decided that in half an hour, she would meet the Prince behind the barn.

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A/N: Oh the irony! "Katara knew that she would think it odd if Risha hooked up with Sokka." ---- That, my friends, is what is called dramatic irony. What a character thinks or says and what we, the readers, know to be true. Oh, crod, this makes me laugh.


	18. A Short Talk

Story Arc: New Allies 

Part: One- The Lutdeo

Chapter: Eighteen: A Short Talk

Author: Fritters-4-Psi

Disclaimer: I do not own the show Avatar: The Last Air Bender or the related characters. Nor do I profit from this fanfiction. The only things of my creation in this fanfiction are the Koertan, Kashi, Risha, the concept of the grith coin, Vioniza, Raven's Watch, and Kali. Other possible thing to come in later chapters.

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He looked to the sundial again. Something odd was going on. In the past few minutes, Zuko had looked at the sundial on a rock outside the barn several times. Risha also noted that her cousin was unusually on edge. It almost seemed as if he was paranoid. He hadn't been acting like that when she had first seen him that morning. What had brought this change in attitude?

The two had been sitting on the ground outside the barn. Since the sun had rose, they had been talking for roughly half an hour. During that time, Zuko had gotten progressively twitchy. His actions made it seem like Risha wasn't welcome there. The Prince had given one word answers to most of the questions his cousin had asked. On a whole, he seemed more interested in the bouquet of wild flowers.

Risha was getting tired of Zuko's behavior. In a roundabout way, she had asked him several times what was going on. He had not gotten the hint, though. Apparently, elusive tactics were lost on her cousin. She would just have to ask him plainly. "Incase you haven't noticed, Zuko, you're acting like there's something wrong. Or that you're expecting something to happen," Risha stated, "What's going on? You've been smelling those flowers, something very odd for a guy from the Fire Nation to be doing, let alone, the Prince of the Fire Nation. And you've been checking the time constantly."

A startled look crossed Zuko's face at Risha's abruptness. "Nothing's wrong. I'm fine," Zuko lied.

The Fauna Bender hid the smug look that wanted to cross her face. "If you're sure nothing is on your mind," Risha implied, "I just wanted to make sure that you're okay and there's nothing happening that you would want to talk about. I guess I'll just sit here for a while, then."

"Why don't you go inside?" Zuko insisted, "You would be far more comfortable in there. You should go inside."

On any other occasion, Risha probably would have felt hurt that her cousin was trying to push her away. She was almost positive what was going on with Zuko, but she just wanted the justification of him admitting it. "Thank you, but no thank you, Cousin. I'm quite comfortable sitting right here," Risha stated.

Zuko tried to remain couth, but his nerves were obviously wearing. Risha saw the vein on her cousin's forehead pop out, just like Ozai's did when he was mad or annoyed; basically all waking hours. She wanted to laugh, but knew better. Very soon, Zuko would either become extremely angry or admit as to what was going on. Risha never liked to be on the receiving end of her cousin's temper.

The Fire Nation Prince was very annoyed with his cousin. There she was, sitting there next to him, doing her best to hide her smile. She always had an uncanny ability to remain calm. He knew that she was trying to force him to talk. If he could hold out much longer, perhaps she would give up and leave. There was only about fifteen minutes until he expected Katara to come. He wanted his cousin gone by then. In a few minutes, she would get bored. She would leave then. Then again, she had a very stable constitution. "You could be very concise," she offered, "You know, when you tell me what's going on. I know something is going on. Just admit it and I'll go."

Zuko was not going to be able to win this battle. "I left Katara a note this morning," Zuko explained, "I asked her to meet me behind the barn three-quarters of an hour past dawn. That is in less than fifteen minutes. I really don't want my older cousin with me when I'm trying to have a private conversation with Katara. Please, go."

Risha gave her cousin a knowing smile, signifying that she had knew all along that was what he was trying to say. Keeping her composure, she rose from the ground. As the Fauna Bender walked away, she whistled a slow tune. Shortly, a Koertan calf walked out of the forest. There was a short silence. "This Koertan is named Flowers," Risha received an odd look from her cousin, "I told her to come out of the forest when you give Katara those wild flowers. While Katara is busy admiring the lovely flowers you gave her point out Flowers. Trust me, everyone, especially girls, love baby animals. When you see Flowers don't mention anything about starting up a roasting fire. Be courteous and things should go pretty well."

With that final note, Risha walked toward her house.

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A/N: Ha, ha. Risha's trying to make it easier for Zutara to be possible. I mean, Zutara needs, like, CPR after Zuko attacked Katara in the season finale. Methinks, I need to work on making the chapters longer. Guess what, though? Today, I shall give you all TWO chapters to read! Look! And you shall see!

Reviews

17, SovereignxXxBrunette: You're welcome for the Zutara fluff! And thank you for the Happy Holidays. I hope you had a good holiday!


	19. Indecisive

Story Arc: New Allies 

Part: One- The Lutdeo

Chapter: Nineteen- Indecisive

Author: Fritters-4-Psi

Disclaimer: I do not own the show Avatar: The Last Air Bender or the related characters. Nor do I profit from this fanfiction. The only things of my creation in this fanfiction are the Koertan, Kashi, Risha, the concept of the grith coin, Vioniza, Raven's Watch, and Kali. Other possible things to come in later chapters.

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It was still early. Far earlier than Sokka would have liked to waken. Judging by the shadows cast on the floor by the newly risen sun, it wasn't quite yet half an hour past dawn. He had almost forgotten what had kept him up so late the night before. Then he remembered, though. Risha and he had kissed. After that, he couldn't get to sleep, so he decided that reading might tire his eyes. It didn't, though. Sokka guessed that he hadn't gotten to sleep till past midnight.

The Water Tribe warrior closed his eyes. Before Risha, the last girl he had kissed had been Princess Yue. She was beautiful and kind. Had been, Sokka mentally corrected himself. Yue had been beautiful and kind. Even in her last moments, she had been thinking for the good of her people. It was less than two months ago that the Princess had given her life to revive the Moon Spirit. By doing so, in a sense, Princess Yue had saved the world.

Sokka thought he had loved Yue with all his heart. The night before he, Katara, and Aang had left the North Pole, he had spent the night out by her grave, crying himself to sleep. That night, it had been one month exactly since she had died, so the moon was full once more. He swore that he had heard Yue telling him that everything would be okay. Everything was not okay, Sokka now realized. Yue had given her life to stop the Fire Nation, but there he was, not only fraternizing with the enemy, but also kissing her. Risha had plainly told them that she was from the Fire Nation.

How could he be thinking like this? Risha wasn't the enemy. Prince Zuko, her cousin, was the enemy. Risha had risked her life twice to help them. She may not be as beautiful as Yue had been, but Risha was compassionate. The Fauna Bender clearly loved all animals and was willing to help anyone in need. No, Risha wasn't the enemy. She hadn't even been to the Fire Nation for, what it seemed like, a long time.

Still, in his heart, Sokka was unsure. It was possible that he was finally beginning to adjust to Yue's death. To him, it seemed so wrong that in two months time he could get over the fact that someone he loved had died and move on. Maybe, he didn't love Yue as much as he thought he did. It had been almost eight years and the pain still hadn't lessened from his mother's death.

Of course, Katara remembered that the anniversary of their mother's death was approaching. She always kept how she felt about it inside. His sister would act as if it was a normal day, but really she was hurting inside. Sokka, on the other hand, would be cynical for weeks nearing and passing that time. He would lash out, seemingly unnecessarily, at the slightest annoyance. He was always sorry for his behavior, though.

He could talk to Risha about it. She probably would understand how he was feeling. After all, she had also lost her mother. Sokka had never talked about his mother's passing, even though he knew he should. Sure, he had thought about what he would say when he talked to others about it, but it just seemed so difficult. He knew Risha was congenial. She would, probably, sit and listen to him for hours. Maybe it was time to talk about his mother and her death.

Sokka opened his eyes and stood up. Chances were that Risha was already awake. Even if she wasn't, he was sure she wouldn't mind if he woke her. Slowly and quietly, he began to walk over to the door to Risha's room. He almost jumped when he heard floor boards creak loudly. He looked in the general direction of where the sound came from. Sokka saw his sister standing at the top of the stairs leading down to the first floor. "What are you doing?" Katara whispered loudly.

"Why do you need to know?" Sokka asked harshly, knowing that it would be taken as part of his cynicism, "What are you doing"  
Katara almost seemed to hesitate, before answering. "I'm going outside," she replied, "To go for a walk and get some fresh air."

Quickly, the Water Bender hurried down the stairs and out the door. Her brother shook his head slightly in confusion. On any other occasion, he might be worried for his sister. Between her being a Water Master, Risha being there, and the grith coins, he couldn't imagine how Katara could get hurt. Unless, of course, Zuko was outside. Sokka was positive, though, that he would have heard the Fire Nation Prince leave.

Sokka continued moving carefully to Risha's room. When he arrived at the door, he knocked quietly. There was no answer or any movement from inside the room. Once again, he knocked. Still, nothing. Slowly, he opened her door. After looking around inside, Sokka decided that Risha must have gone outside to feed her animals.

The Water Tribe warrior stepped to the door leading outside. He opened it to see Risha walking toward him. At a slow jog, he ran up to meet her. "Hey, good morning, Sokka," she said.

Making herself taller by standing on the tips of her toes, Risha leaned forward. After a short kiss, she asked, "How are you?"

"I'm fine," he replied, "Uh, Risha, would you mind talking to me for a minute?"

"Of course, I wouldn't mind," Risha stated.

Sokka grabbed the Fauna Bender gently by the arm and pulled her to a bench near the house. As they walked over, out of the corner of his eye, he saw some movement near the barn. He turned and saw Zuko and Katara, walking together, arms linked, going out behind the barn. "Sorry, but this is going to have to wait," he apologized, "I've got some other business to attend to first."

He left Risha standing at the bench. He ran as fast as he could toward the Fire Nation Prince with only one thing on his mind. Vengeance.

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Here is the second chapter of the Two Chapter Update New Year Special! Dance and be merry! And, of course, review!


	20. A Fight

Story Arc: New Allies

Part: One- The Lutdeo

Chapter: Twenty- A Fight

Author: Fritters-4-Psi

Disclaimer: I do not own the show Avatar: The Last Air Bender or the related characters. Nor do I profit from this fanfiction. The only things of my creation in this fanfiction are the Koertan, Kashi, Risha, the concept of the grith coin, Vioniza, Raven's Watch, and Kali. Other possible things to come in later chapters.

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Soon after his cousin had left, Zuko saw Katara exit the house. The Water Bender had stopped briefly to talk to Risha, but continued shortly after. She had gotten his note. A nervous sense of joy passed over the Prince. Of course he was happy that Katara was coming, but what if something went wrong? She could be allergic to the flowers he had picked. Or what if she wasn't interested in the Koertan calf, like Risha said she would be? It was entirely possible that she had only come to yell at him for constantly trying to capture her friend, the Avatar.

Incase the latter was true, Zuko approached with slight caution in his stride. As he neared, he noticed no malice in Katara's eyes, denoting a chance of anger. A wave of relief passed over the Prince and that caused him to walk more confidently. When the Water Bender was no more than four feet away, Zuko bowed courteously. Soon there after, he straightened himself, then offered the flowers he had picked. "These are for you," Zuko said as he handed Katara the flowers.

"Thank you," she replied, "They're beautiful."

"I always did believe that beautiful people deserved to be in possession of beautiful things," Zuko remarked.

To hide her blush, Katara leaned toward the flowers to smell them. Zuko offered his arm for her to take. Graciously, she took it and they began to walk, arms linked. A quick look over his shoulder led Zuko to see an angering sight. His cousin had just kissed the Water Tribe peasant. Katara must have sensed that something was wrong. She looked to where Zuko's eyes rested. By then, the kiss was over, though. All she saw was that Sokka had gently grabbed Risha by the arm. "What happened?" she asked.

"It was nothing," Zuko shook his head, "Lets continue, shall we?"

Together, they started toward behind the barn. For a short while, they walked in silence. After coming events, Zuko was glad that they had been silent. It couldn't have been five minutes after the Prince had seen his cousin kiss Sokka, when he heard the rushing of feet. With a quick look to Katara, he unlinked their arms. He turned just as the Water Tribe warrior knocked him to the ground.

Sokka had a look in his eyes showing that reason was being blinded by vengeance. He kept Zuko pinned to the ground, throwing punches at the Prince's face and chest. Zuko was not kept down for long, though. He managed to push Sokka out of his way. Zuko tried to remain calm, but his composure broke when Sokka possibly inhibited his ability to have children by kicking him in the family jewels. The Fire Nation Prince, with all his might, after he recovered, punched Sokka square in the jaw. The Water Tribe warrior stumbled backward, but looked at Zuko with malice in his eyes. "Stay away from my sister," he commanded.

"I saw you kissing my cousin," Zuko said, "You stay away from her."

Sokka wiped the trickle of blood from his mouth. "Who are you to tell me what to do?" he asked, "I challenge you . . . "

"Agni Kai," Zuko stated with contempt, "Today. In two hours."

"I'll be there," Sokka said through gritted teeth.

The Prince of the Fire Nation stormed off toward one of the paths leading into the forest. Risha, who had run over to where the boys had been fighting, hurried after her cousin. She would have liked to help Sokka take care of his wounds, but of the two, Zuko had come off worse. He had reached the edge of the forest by the time she had caught up with him. "Zuko, are you okay," Risha received no answer from her cousin, "I'm sorry. For not telling you about the whole Sokka thing. I was going to tell you earlier, but I thought it would ruin your good mood."

Zuko shot a repugnant glare at his cousin. "If you were happy, why would it ruin my good mood?" he remarked, "You should have told me. In the Fire Nation, keeping information withheld is as good as lying. That is what angers me."

"I'm sorry," Risha tried to apologize again.

"I suppose you had a good reason not to tell me," Zuko sighed, "I accept your apology."

The despondent look on Risha's face all together brightened. Being back on good terms obviously brightened her ambience. "We still have a problem," she commented, "You challenged Sokka to an Agni Kai."

A shocked look crept onto Zuko's face. "You aren't asking me to withdraw my challenge, are you?" he asked, "That would take quite a blow to my already crumbled honor."

"Of course, I'm not asking that of you. I know it wouldn't help you restore your honor by canceling a challenge. I know your honor is very important to you," Risha stated, "But an Agni Kai is also known as a Fire Duel. Agni Kai is always fought between two Fire Benders. You have an unfair advantage as a Fire Bender against Sokka, who obviously is not. Fighting him as he is would be very dishonorable."

"As always, you do have a point," Zuko speculated, "Fine, do what you have to so that the odds are closer to being even."

With a smile and a bow, Risha thanked her cousin. Slowly, she walked toward the barn where Sokka sat. When she was just out of earshot, Katara ran up to Risha. "Is he okay?" she asked, referring to Prince Zuko.

"Other than a little bruised. He's fine. Well, and, of course, his wounded pride," Risha laughed, "How's Sokka?"

"Just about the same. Except, that hit Zuko gave him in the mouth is causing a lot of blood flow," Katara looked at her brother, "I think he's mad at me, too. I offered to heal his wounds with water, but he just looked away. I'm going to go see if there's anything I can do for Zuko."

As Katara jogged over to the Prince, Risha walked over to the Water Tribe warrior. He sat on a small rock, pressing a cloth to his mouth to slow the blood. Gently, the Fauna Bender took the cloth from Sokka's hands. She wiped away some of the blood that had dried on his chin. Then reapplied the pressure to the open wound. Sokka took the cloth into his own hands again, giving a slight nod of thanks. "You have to fight my cousin in two hours. It was going to be an unfair fight, but Zuko agreed that I could do what I may to even the odds," Risha sat down on the ground next to Sokka, "Agni Kai is a Fire Duel. To help even the odds you would need a Fire Bender on your side. I'm going to fight along side you."

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A/N: Man, it took all the self-control I had not to call this chapter "ZUTARA! OMG! IT'S HERE!" Of course, there's not much Zutara in this chapter. There's more Sokka/OC than Zutara.

Reviews

19, SovereignxXxBrunette : Until you called me evil, I didn't realize I had a cliff hanger ending. I did have a good New Year. Thanks for asking! I ate snack food all night and watched the movie 'The Island'.

19, Half-elf: What kind of Zutara fic would this be if Sokka didn't have a fit about his sister hooking up with their sworn enemy? And, you're right. It is so funny. I love that Sokka tackles Zuko. It's just so great.


	21. Discovery

Story Arc: New Allies 

Part: One- The Lutdeo

Chapter: Twenty One- Discovery

Author: Fritters-4-Psi

Disclaimer: I do not own the show Avatar: The Last Air Bender or the related characters. Nor do I profit from this fanfiction. The only things of my creation in this fanfiction are the Koertan, Kashi, Risha, the concept of the grith coin, Vioniza, Raven's Watch, and Kali. Other possible things to come in later chapters.

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It was a little past dawn when Katara stormed into the house. She was angry. It was beyond her knowledge as to why guys couldn't solve their problems by discussing the issue calmly. Of course, men of any of the Nations first step to solving any problem is to fight.

After checking to see how Zuko was fairing, Katara went to talk to Risha. The Water Bender wanted to get the details about an Angi Kai. Risha explained that it was a Fire Duel. A fight using strength, agility, and Fire Bending. Katara was stunned. Her brother was going to have to fight a Fire Bender in a Fire Duel. This would be an unfair match.

Or at least, Katara thought it would be an unfair match. Risha then told Katara that Zuko had told her that she could do what she may to even the odds. In her time in the Fire Nation, Risha had never heard of any rules about how many people can fight in one Duel. The Fauna Bender was going to fight alongside Sokka.

Now, Katara had gone to wake Aang. Due to her bad mood, she didn't care whom else she woke. "Aang! Wake up! It's an hour past dawn and already we have a problem," Katara yelled up the stairs.

From a door on her left, Iroh walked out of one of the rooms. "What seems to be the problem?" he asked, concerned.

"Hold on, on second. I'll tell it when Aang is down here too," Katara stated.

Soon, Aang came down stairs. With a yawn, he asked, "What's going on, Katara?"

"Sokka and Zuko got into a small fight. If the fight wasn't bad enough, Zuko challenged Sokka to an Angi Kai," Katara explained.

"Angi Kai?" Iroh was shocked, "My nephew challenged the Water Tribe warrior to an Angi Kai? No good shall come of this. I'm dreadfully sorry, Katara, but your brother won't be able to win."

"How is that possible?" Aang wondered aloud, "Angi Kai is a Fire Duel. Sokka's not a Fire Bender."

"Apparently, Zuko agreed to let Risha make the fight fair, if she can," Katara informed them, "As Aang, Sokka, and I shockingly found out last night, Risha is also a Fire Bender. She said that she was going to fight alongside Sokka."

"Risha may have thought that her fighting would even the odds a great deal, but Zuko has improved greatly since they had mock-dueled when they were little," Iroh said, "And Risha could never beat him back then, either. I hope that her Fire Bending has magnificently improved."

"What do you mean?" Katara was worried.

"I know Risha wanted to tell you this part of her tale, but she was exiled from the Fire Nation," Iroh stated, "One of the main reasons for her exile was because she could Bend, but she was a very weak Bender. The Fire Lord was shamed to know that anyone related to him could barely hold a flame."

Aang and Katara looked at each other, both with worried looks on their faces. They knew that Zuko could be ruthless. There was no doubt that he would strike down Sokka, given the chance. Mentally, would he be able to defeat his own cousin, though? In two hours time, they would find out.

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Yes, that's right. You all will have to wait to see the Agni Kai. Speaking of Agni Kai, I realized something today. Look at the word 'ignite'. Look at the word 'agni'. 'Ignite' comes from the Latin word 'ignis', meaning fire. If you take the 's' off, you have 'igni'. Igni and agni look a lot a like and both words' meanings deal with fire. I find that amazing.

Reviews

20, SovereignxXxBrunette: I don't take being called evil seriously. I get called evil all the time. Sorry to say, but you're going to have to wait for the Agni Kai!


	22. Preparation

Story Arc: New Allies 

Part: One- The Lutdeo

Chapter: Twenty Two- Preparation

Author: Fritters-4-Psi

Disclaimer: I do not own the show Avatar: The Last Air Bender or the related characters. Nor do I profit from this fanfiction. The only things of my creation in this fanfiction are the Koertan, Kashi, Risha, the concept of the grith coin, Vioniza, Raven's Watch, and Kali. Other possible things to come in later chapters.

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The sundial read seven-thirty. There was half an hour until Zuko and Sokka's scheduled Agni Kai. Zuko readied himself far from the others. After speaking to Katara, he had gone off into the forest so he could be alone to think and prepare. This duel would be won easily. He had fought the Water Tribe peasant before. There was no contest. If this was to be easily won, Zuko wondered, why did he even bother challenging Sokka? "Because he's corrupting my cousin. That's why I need to fight him," Zuko said to himself, "And I care for Katara. I can't let that peasant say otherwise."

In the giant living room of the house, Sokka and Risha were getting ready for the Agni Kai. Katara and Aang sat at the dining table and watched. For a short time, Iroh watched too, but he soon left to find Zuko. He wasn't so much worried about his nephew, as much as he was intrigued. The old General wondered what led to this challenge. Katara had said that there had been a small fight. What had caused the two to fight?

While Sokka prepared like any Water Tribe warrior would, by putting on paints that were shades of grey, Risha went into her room. She stripped off the red long-sleeved shirt she had put on that morning. In place of the other shirt, she donned a black tank-top. The trim of the tank-top was the same odd greenish-yellow of her eyes. She traded her normal baggy, black pants for a pair of tight black pants. On her feet, she put on a pair of simple black boots. The Fauna Bender had dressed so that she could move easily with little risk of her clothes getting caught on something.

She walked back out into the main room with confidence. Sokka had already finished preparing. He wore a mask of paint and in his left hand was a whale-bone spear. Risha walked over to Sokka, taking the spear from his hand. The handle of the spear was wooden. In a Fire Duel, it would soon be of no use. Instead, she handed him a katana and a iron-handled halberd. "These weapons will be more effective than your wooden spear," Risha said solemnly.

Sokka bowed in thanks, but said nothing. Risha then walked over to one of her decorated walls. From the wall, she took another iron-handled halberd, a small dagger, and a scimitar. She attached the scimitar to her belt and put the dagger in her left boot. Aang and Katara noticed how fierce Risha looked. Previously, if they had any doubts, seeing her all ready for a fight made them realize that there had to be Fire Nation blood in her veins.

With her open hand, the Fauna Bender grasped Sokka's open hand. She bit her lower lip and Sokka wondered if she was having doubts about fighting. "Are you going to be able to do this?" he asked her quietly, "You know? Fight your own cousin?"

Risha leaned forward and kissed Sokka on the cheek. "You need my help," she whispered, "Besides, it's not like I'm going to be killing Zuko. Just trying to knock some sense into him.

Watching Risha and Sokka made Katara realize something. Earlier that morning, when her and Zuko had been walking, seeing Risha with Sokka must have been what angered Zuko, even though it had only been for a short moment. What was going on between the two? The night before they seemed to only have a general friendship. After the Agni Kai, Katara would have to find out if her friend and her brother had a more meaningful relationship.

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Wow. For the life of me, I couldn't spell 'General' in this chapter. I'd look at it and be like "That doesn't look right." But I couldn't figure out what was wrong with it. Okay, I feel guilty because you've been waiting for the Agni Kai since chapter 19. This is chapter 22. But look out for a SECOND chapter later today. Or, if I can't get on the internet again, tomorrow. And chapter 23, the next one, is the Agni Kai!

Reviews

21, SovereignxXxBrunette: Here's an udate. Ane HOPEFULLY later today I'll be able to get on and post another update! And update with the Agni Kai!


	23. Agni Kai

Story Arc: New Allies 

Part: One- The Lutdeo

Chapter: Twenty Three- Agni Kai

Author: Fritters-4-Psi

Disclaimer: I do not own the show Avatar: The Last Air Bender or the related characters. Nor do I profit from this fanfiction. The only things of my creation in this fanfiction are the Koertan, Kashi, Risha, the concept of the grith coin, Vioniza, Raven's Watch, and Kali. Other possible things to come in later chapters.

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Eight o'clock was the hour the sundial read. It was time for the Agni Kai. The news of the Duel had spread quickly. The Fire Nation soldiers staying in the barn got wind of it and realized that there wasn't an arena. Using fallen logs, boards, and other like objects, they jerry-built an arena. Then they waited for the fight to begin.

The soldiers weren't the only ones who had heard what was going on. Animals in the forest heard, as well. An Agni Kai would be the most interesting thing that had happened in their home for a long time. Several of the Koertan were going to attend the fight. Appa and Kashi, who had still been wandering in the forest from the night before, also received word of the Duel and began lumbering their way toward the buildings. Risha's two-tailed watch dogs were also going to watch the fight.

Both, humans and animals, lined the arena, waiting for the fight between Zuko and Sokka to begin. None of the spectators, but Katara, Aang, and Iroh knew that Risha would also be participating in the Duel. Not even Zuko, Sokka and Risha's opponent, knew that his cousin decided to even the odds by fighting alongside the Water Tribe warrior.

A roar went up from the crowd. Walking from within the forest, was Zuko. Silence followed as he walked proudly into the arena. With dignity, Zuko stood with an almost blanket-like Fire Nation banner covering most of his bare upper half, waiting for his opponent to show. Another roar came from the crowd (including some boos from the Fire Nation soldiers), when Sokka exited the house; Risha followed closely behind.

Sokka stood in the arena, across from Zuko. The Fauna Bender stood behind the Water Tribe warrior, outside of the arena. "I challenged you to an Agni Kai and you dare to defy our customs?" Zuko sneered.

"What does he mean?" Sokka whispered to Risha.

"He means that you've got to do as you would in a real Agni Kai. Normally, the men don't wear shirts when they fight. And when they're waiting of the duel to begin, they cover their shoulders with a banner," she explained, "You don't have a banner, so we'll have to make due with your shirt once you take it off."

The blue shirt proved to make a decent banner once Sokka took it off. Compared to Zuko, Sokka was really skinny. That's not to say that he wasn't muscled. He was just slim, like an athlete, unlike Zuko, who was built more like a fighter. "What are you doing with those weapons, peasant?" Zuko asked, "There are no weapons in an Agni Kai."

"I helped him prepare," Risha said while setting down her own weapons, "I thought that, six years ago when I was still in the Fire Nation, weapons were allowed."

"Small weapons, yes. But that was six, almost seven, years ago. The rules have changed since then. No weapons," the Prince explained, "Now, set your weapons aside, peasant."

Zuko watched intently as Sokka walked over to the sidelines and set the halberd and katana on the ground. When Sokka returned to the arena, the Fire Nation Prince spoke up, "How is it, my cousin, that you have evened the odds?"

Bravely, Risha stepped forward, into the makeshift arena. A shocked look appeared on Zuko's face. Immediately, he knew what she had planned. He couldn't fight her. She was his cousin and closer to him than his own sister. Perhaps, she wasn't going to fight. Maybe she was just doing this to psych him out, making it easier for Sokka to win. Risha looked entirely prepared to fight, though. "If you are planning to fight, you can't, Risha. Agni Kai is a one-on-one duel," Zuko tried to hide his shock.

"Are there any rules dictating the amount of people in a duel? No, there isn't. This is perfectly acceptable," she grinned, "Besides, you said that I could do whatever I may to even the odds. Originally, this was a very unfair fight. To duel Sokka as he was would be dishonorable. To go back on your word, now that is also dishonorable."

Tendrils of smoke came from Zuko's nose. As he let out an angry sigh to try and calm himself, flames exited his mouth. The soldiers laughed at the Prince being told off by a girl; his soldiers laughed. He assumed that she was purposely trying to humiliate him. Suddenly, a fiery dagger protruded from either of Zuko's fists. If that how his cousin was going to act, then he wasn't going to allow some wench let his soldiers think any less of him. He retracted the fiery daggers, but was no less angry. "Fine. You can fight. You're nothing, but a rejected throwback denounced from royalty," Zuko didn't speak with his brain, but his anger, "How can a Water Tribe peasant and a worthless farmer defeat the Prince of the Fire Nation?"

Risha was hurt by the cruel words her cousin spoke. She knew that he was saying it out of anger, but she had a hard time grasping that. She fought back with words. "You may be the Prince, but you're not the Crown Prince. I bet Zula's at home, sitting comfortably in your seat at the dinning table, next to your father," the Fauna Bender sneered, "I am no mere farmer. After this fight, you're going to learn respect. You'll learn never to underestimate people."

She stood next to Sokka with her head held high, looking all kinds of defiant. Deep in her eyes, though, if everyone had looked closely, was a look of sadness and regret. She knew better than to fight her own cousin, but she had spoken against him. The blood of the Fire Nation in her veins wouldn't allow her to turn back now. She had to fight. She promised Sokka that she would help him.

Zuko's eyes showed no emotion as he gave a signal to his uncle. Iroh blew the sungi horn, which had been in the barn with the soldiers, to show the beginning of the duel. The Prince raised his arms. The Fire Nation banner fell from his shoulders to the ground. Sokka copied him as best as he could and his shirt, which had been resting on his shoulders, fell. Risha stepped a few steps back and whispered to Sokka, "Tire him out for me, will you?"

There was no time to reply before Zuko launched a ball of fire in Sokka's direction. Quickly, he ducked and it missed him. Another fireball came along, low to the ground. Sokka jumped aside to avoid being hit. Repeatedly, Zuko threw fireballs and Sokka dodged them. With each near miss, the Water Tribe warrior managed to get closer to the Prince. Finally, he was close enough so that he might be able to knock Zuko to the ground by tackling him.

Starting off with a run, Sokka sprang into the air. Zuko evaded the attack, causing Sokka to hit the ground heavily. A booted foot lay across the back of Sokka's neck. The Fire Nation Prince leaned forward, close to Sokka's head, his foot still on his neck. "You tried that on my once. You should have known better that to think it would work a second time," Zuko taunted, "But what else could I expect from a peasant, like you?"

With most of Zuko's weight resting on his neck, Sokka writhed in pain as he tried to free himself. The Prince had a difficult time keeping the Water Tribe warrior down. Several times, Zuko almost fell because of Sokka moving, but he managed to keep his balance. It was a difficult decision to decide how to execute his plan, so for a while, Zuko stood with his foot on Sokka's neck. That was the first of his mistakes during the Agni Kai.

The pain was almost unbearable for Sokka. That heavy lout of a Prince was pushing all his weight right onto Sokka's neck. One of the worst things about that was, when he fell, Sokka's hands had been trapped underneath his own body. Struggle as he may, he couldn't get his hands free. If his hands were loose, he might be able to push Zuko down. Of course, Risha should be helping him. Why wasn't she attacking Zuko?

A few feet away, the Fauna Bender watched as Sokka fought to be free of her cousin's weight. She was going to help, but not just yet. Zuko still hadn't tired yet. She had to wait. Risha wasn't as great of a fighter as she hoped she appeared to be. Sokka was determined to win. She knew that he would fight until she stepped in to finished Zuko off. Of course, by 'finish off' she didn't mean that she was going to kill him. She meant that she'd end the fight.

To the surprise of the Fire Nation soldiers watching the fight, the Water Tribe warrior finally managed to break free. When he did, Zuko lost his balance and fell to the ground. Sokka took this chance to pin the Prince by sitting on his stomach. A few punches hit Zuko's face while he was temporarily in shock. The moment of surprise passed quickly and the Fire Bender managed to push Sokka out of his way.

Daggers of fire appeared in either of Zuko's fists. Quickly, he began trying to cut and burn Sokka. Almost as quick as his opponent, Sokka dodged the daggers. There were several close calls, but, so far, he hadn't been burned yet. In between dodging, the Water Tribe warrior was able to give a few solid kicks and punches to Zuko. "Back away from him!" Risha yelled to Sokka.

Slowly, Sokka followed Risha's advice. He backed away, out of Zuko's reach. The Prince's reaction was to hurl balls of fire at his enemy. Once more, Sokka resumed evading the hot blasts. Unfortunately, he was beginning to tire, causing his dodging abilities to get sloppy. Twice, his pants were singed and once a fireball grazed his left arm. Still, Zuko threw more fireballs.

From their distance, it would be hard for others to see, but Risha saw it. Zuko was beginning to breathe harder. Her plan was working. By Sokka being further away from her cousin, the easiest way for Zuko to hit him would be to throw fireballs. Throwing fireballs used up much more energy than keeping the steady flame of a dagger. Energy that would be taken away from Zuko's physical strength. He was finally weakening.

Zuko was absorbed in flinging balls of fire at his adversary, so he never noticed his cousin running at him as fast as she could. Before he knew what hit him, he was on the ground; Risha had just tackled him. She got up quickly and assumed a fighting position. As soon as Zuko had fallen, Sokka rushed over. Between sentences, the Water Tribe warrior kicked the Prince solidly in the side. "You're done. You have just as good as lost. You can forfeit and end this fight, but I'm not going to give up," Sokka spat out through gritted teeth, "Stay away from my sister. Keep your two-cents out of mine and Risha's relationship. And find something better to do than try and catch Aang. You should know by now that you'll never capture him. You're just a failure."

Those last few sentences struck a cold reality in Zuko's heart. For more than two years he had been searching for the Avatar. After several tries, he still hadn't caught him yet. The Prince of the Fire Nation only allowed himself a few moments of self-pity, before he turn to anger once more. After Zuko sprang from the ground, a fist fight between the two teenage boys started. Risha stood nearby, but not idly. She whistled a low pitch tune that no person could hear.

One of the Koertan on the side lines stepped into the arena. It was Horo, the big, ill-tempered buck that Sokka had ridden three days earlier. With his black mohair and four horns, he looked quite menacing. The massive buck reared and charged at Zuko. The two right horn on Horo's lowered head caught Zuko's legs, causing the Prince to fall again. Horo reared right over Zuko and his cloven hooves would have landed on Zuko's chest if he hadn't of rolled out of the way. The Koertan continued harassing the Prince.

Iroh watched from alongside the arena in dismay. This fight was becoming more and more unfair as each moment passed by. Just now, Risha lit a circle of grass around Zuko on fire. With her not advanced Fire Bending abilities, she wouldn't be able to do much harm, but then there were her Fauna Bending abilities . . . Even that boy from the Southern Water Tribe had inflicted quite a bit of damage. Things were looking ill for Zuko. Iroh made an executive decision. "This is enough. This can no longer be called an Agni Kai. In fact, Zuko, this never could have been called an Agni Kai. This fight has become, increasingly, unfair. It will end now," Iroh stated, "Unless you want to continue, Risha. If you do, you will have to fight me, as well as your cousin."

In that moment, Risha realized what she had done. She had no business being apart of this fight. This had been between Zuko and Sokka. She shouldn't have interfered at all. She let her brain be clouded by anger. There was a possibility, by Fauna Bending, she could have caused some serious harm to her cousin, who she had once loved like a brother.

Tears began to well up in her eyes. She didn't want all these Fire Nation soldiers, Uncle Iroh, Zuko, the Avatar, Katara, and, especially, Sokka to see her cry. Quickly, she ran over to where Kashi stood. She hopped up onto the female Flying Bison's back and, mentally, commanded her to fly. Kashi took to the air right as the tears began to spill down Risha's face.

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Haha. How ironic is it that the spell-checker told be that the word I should use instead of 'Zula' was 'Exiles'? I just find that so funny.

Reviews

22, SovereignxXxBrunette: You're welcome! And here's the Agni Kai!


	24. Guilt

Story Arc: New Allies 

Part: One- The Lutdeo

Chapter: Twenty Four- Guilt

Author: Fritters-4-Psi

Disclaimer: I do not own the show Avatar: The Last Air Bender or the related characters. Nor do I profit from this fanfiction. The only things of my creation in this fanfiction are the Koertan, Kashi, Risha, the concept of the grith coin, Vioniza, Raven's Watch, and Kali. Other possible things to come in later chapters.

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Nobody looked at Sokka after Risha left. They avoided his glance, almost like it was his fault that this whole fight happened. His own sister didn't even offer to heal his wounds. Instead, Katara had walked off to see how Zuko was. Aang and Iroh were talking with their backs turned to Sokka. He felt very alone. Also, his arm hurt from where he was burned.

Sokka was extremely surprised when he saw Zuko walking in his direction. The majority of the Prince's wounds had been, at least, partially healed by Katara. In some places, though, he was still bleeding. "You have proved to be a worthy opponent. I despise you no less, though. I have seen that, maybe, you genuinely care about my cousin," Zuko stated, "If you do actually care for her, why haven't you gone to see if she's okay yet?"

Zuko's eyes showed a respectful understanding. Almost as if he was giving his consent for a relationship between his cousin and Sokka. That seemed unrealistic, though. Perhaps, it was just permission to go make sure Risha was unharmed. Or a command to do so. Either way, Sokka took it to be semi-good news. "You, too, were a good opponent," Sokka remained polite.

With that, the warrior from the Water Tribe turned to walk toward Appa, but was stopped. "I hope you know that I would never do anything to purposely harm your sister. We have become friends, in the least," Zuko explained, "Of course, I won't let that friendship stand in the way of my mission to capture the Avatar."

"I guessed that you wouldn't intentionally harm Katara," Sokka replied, "But I still don't trust you."

"I expected no less of you," Zuko walked back to Katara.

When he went to put the massive saddle on Appa, Sokka didn't ask for help. The reason was, he doubted anyone would want to help. After several unsuccessful tries, he settled on just attaching the reins to the Flying Bison's horns. When the leather straps that served as reins were adjusted, Sokka climbed onto Appa's back. "Yip, yip!" Sokka commanded, and they were off.

Once in the sky, Sokka kept a good eye on the horizon. So far, though, he had seen no sign of Kashi or Risha. It was possible they had already landed. If that was the case, Sokka had Appa fly just above the tree tops. They had flown for only seven minutes when Sokka saw a break in the trees just ahead. Appa passed over that spot while Sokka looked below to see if that was where Risha was.

Sure enough, in that clearing, Risha sat with Kashi standing behind her. Sokka pulled the reins back around and Appa landed in the same clearing. Once on the ground, he heard quiet sobbing. It was coming from Risha' direction. Sokka stepped toward her to comfort her. "Go away," she managed to say, "I need some time to myself. Leave me alone."

Sokka ignored her request. He walked forward and sat down next to her. For a few moments, they said nothing to each other. Then, Sokka put an arm around Risha's shoulders and said, "You've lived out in these woods by yourself for I don't know how long. Never having anyone to talk to. I think it would be good for you to have someone to talk to, instead of sending them away."

"I do have someone to talk to," the Fauna Bender choked, "I have the animals. Now, go away."

"Animals think differently then we do, though. Please, tell me what's wrong," Sokka insisted, "I'm not going back until you tell me."

For several minutes, Risha sat there without saying anything. She just fought back the tears that threatened to spill. She was too proud to let Sokka see her cry. Vioniza, her mother, probably wouldn't have cried. Risha doubted that her mother even cried when she was taken hostage by those pirates that had killed her. Risha had to be strong, like her mother would have been.

Slowly, though, Risha's guard fell. On top of everything else, thinking about her mother sent her over the edge. She greatly missed her mother. It had been eleven years since Vioniza had died, along with Teyo, Risha's brother. Two years ago, news had reached the Fauna Bender that her father had died. Really, the only family she had left, that actually cared for her, was Zuko and Iroh. Zuko wanted to protect his cousin, and during the Agni Kai, Risha had acted horribly. Tears fell down her face. "You were at the Agni Kai! You saw how I behaved," she managed between sobs, "I almost killed my own cousin!"

Now Sokka realized what this was all about. Risha was feeling guilty. "You didn't almost kill Zuko. Trust me. For the past few months, when he was following Aang, he's seen worse," Sokka tried to comfort Risha, "Even if you did kill Zuko, you would be doing the world a favor. Without Zuko in the way, there would be fewer people trying to hinder the Avatar. It would have made Aang's job easier."

"You don't understand! I ordered Horo to kill him," Risha whimpered, "There are worse things in the forest. If Horo hadn't killed him, I would have ordered a bigger, fiercer animal to."

"Everything turned out fine, though, didn't it? Sure, we all will feel a bit sore tomorrow and can show off some bruises," Sokka stated, "But no one died. And that's what matters."

They said nothing more. While drying her tears, Risha realized Sokka was right. It was a good thing that no one had died. Also, as far as she knew, no one had been seriously hurt either. She wrapped her arms around Sokka and hugged him. "Thank you," she whisper.

"You're welcome," he replied, "Lets bring you back to your home now."

Apparently, although Sokka had known nothing of it, Kashi had said that she was going to go graze deep in the forest. That meant that they would have to ride Appa back. The male Flying Bison wasn't wearing his saddle, though. The safest way to fly back, with both of them on, was to sit on Appa's neck. Sokka sat closer to the Bison's head with the reins. Risha, behind Sokka, held on tightly with her arms around his waist. Before Sokka could say anything, Appa took to the air and flew toward Risha's home.

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It seems like I haven't updated in forever! Last week does seem very far away actually. On Wednesday one of my sheep died. That was very sad. I really liked her. Her name was Allen, which I thought was great. it really sucks that she died...

Reviews

23, SovereignxXxBrunette: I know, poor Zuko. He got hurt. I think he does need a kiss... To make his wounds feel better, that is.


	25. Apologies

Story Arc: New Allies 

Part: One- The Lutdeo

Chapter: Twenty Five- Apologies

Author: Fritters-4-Psi

Disclaimer: I do not own the show Avatar: The Last Air Bender or the related characters. Nor do I profit from this fanfiction. The only things of my creation in this fanfiction are the Koertan, Kashi, Risha, the concept of the grith coin, Vioniza, Raven's Watch, and Kali. Other possible things to come in later chapters.

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The bison landed softly on the grass next to the barn. It was quiet as Risha and Sokka slid off of Appa's neck. Outside, no one was to be seen. The makeshift arena, where the Agni Kai had been held, was gone. All signs of the fight were removed from the ground. Sokka untied the reins from the flying bison's horns. Appa turned toward the forest and walked slowly into the trees. Together, Risha and Sokka entered the house.

Inside, Aang and Iroh were playing Pai Sho. Watching the game, Zuko and Katara were sitting close to each other on a couch. The Prince looked different. The scar that had been given to him by his father didn't look as bad. The wounds that he had received during the Agni Kai had been healed. He excused himself to Katara and walked over to Risha and Sokka. Sokka knew the Prince didn't mean to talk to him, so he took his leave. Zuko led his cousin outside.

Still angry from Zuko's hurtful words before the fight, Risha turned her back on him. She didn't want to listen to him. It was possible that she might apologize to him. She did feel guilty, after all, but she was too proud to say she was sorry. As she soon learned, Zuko wasn't. "Risha, my dear cousin, I wish to apologize," the Fire Nation Prince stated, "I hope you accept my regrets. I plan to leave very soon. By the end of today at the latest. I don't want there to be a rift between us. Neither of us know when we might see each other again. We don't know what the Great Spirits have planned for our lives."

He spoke as if he was foretelling his own death. As if it was nearer than most expected. Sometimes it was good to stay mad for a short while. This was one of those times for Risha. She just wanted to stay mad at her cousin. He was talking of his death, though. There wasn't a way that she could stay angry at someone who spoke of those things. She wasn't expecting Zuko to die. Then again, she hadn't expected her mother to die. Or her brother. Or her father. Risha wrapped her arms around her cousin in a hug. "You shouldn't be the one apologizing. I should," she said, "I acted horribly. I treated you so badly. We're cousins. We need to look out for each other. It's not like the rest of our family will. My parents and brother are dead. Your mother is dead. Your father and sister hate you. We should be supporting each other. Not attacking one another."

Zuko pulled his cousin back. He looked her in the eyes. "I agree. You're right. We should have called off that fight as soon as I challenged the peas . . . I mean, Sokka. We were both at fault," the Prince stated.

"Will you stay for a short while?" Risha asked, "I haven't finished telling my tale. I think you should be there to correct me on some of the finer points that I may miss."

In response, Zuko laughed and nodded his head. Now that they had come to terms, he didn't mind staying for while longer. Before, he had just wanted to leave, but knew he had to be polite. "Zuko? What happened to your scar? It doesn't seem, so, you know, bad as it was before," Risha questioned.

"Katara must have told you that she has healing powers," Zuko assumed, "She decided, while she was healing the wounds I received fighting, that she would see if she could do anything about my scar. There isn't much of a difference, but she did manage to make it slightly less noticeable."

Risha's face showed that she agreed. The scar was less noticeable by, at least, a small amount. The two were now done with their apologies. Together, they reentered the house. Soon, the rest of the story of Risha's life would be told.

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For some reason, it feels like I haven't updated in forever. I don't really get it. And, hahaha! About Katara sort of healing Zuko's scar! There has been like all sorts of theories that Katara is going to fix Zuko's scar on the show! I don't think she will, but it was fun adding that bit in there.

Sadly, I think there will only be a few more chapters. That's right. This fanfic is almost over. Not to worry, though! I've started writting the second story in this arc. I'm not going to start posting it until this story is over.

Reviews

24, SovereignxXxBrunette: The Zuko fan mob has CHAINSAWS! I never knew! Poor Sokka... Getting chased down with chainsaws... I hadn't realized how dramatic the last chapter was until you mentioned it.


	26. A Story of Childhood

Story Arc: New Allies

Part: One- The Lutdeo

Chapter: Twenty Six- A Story of Childhood

Author: Fritters-4-Psi

Disclaimer: I do not own the show Avatar: The Last Air Bender or the related characters. Nor do I profit from this fanfiction. The only things of my creation in this fanfiction are the Koertan, Kashi, Risha, the concept of the grith coin, Vioniza, Raven's Watch, Kali, the Nai, Shian-Nai the Nai, Kaza the Koi Fish, and the Red Sand Gulf. Other possible things to come in later chapters.

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Everyone gathered around the table with plates in front of them. The plates had some left over Koertan meant from the night before. For Aang, there was some left over vegetables. The fight earlier that morning had prevented anyone from having a decent breakfast. Once Risha had announced that she was going to finish her tale, there was a general agreement to have refreshments while listening.

"Yesterday I told you all about how my mother and father met. Basically, I gave you some general background information on my family. I mentioned myself very little," Risha stated, "Today I will be telling you about myself."

With a preparative sigh, she began. "As you all know, I was born in the Fire Nation. My mother, Vioniza, was the sister to the Fire Lord. My father, was an Earth Nation soldier. Eleven years after my parents married, I was born. From what I've heard others say, I was a very healthy baby. To others' knowledge, all Fire Nation citizens are Fire Benders. Judging from my lineage, everyone guessed that I would be a very powerful Bender. At the age of five, most Fire Nation children begin showing signs of Fire Bending. When I turned five, there was nothing. My mother insisted that I was just a late bloomer; that in a few months, I would start showing signs of Bending. Still, there was nothing."

"At six, Fire Nation children are sent to school to help them learn Fire Bending and, sometimes, academics. Even though I couldn't Fire Bend yet, I was sent to school. My parents thought that being around other Fire Bending children my age would influence me to Bend. It didn't work," she explained, "The other kids at school were meanspirited. They were all noble born children so they were brought up knowing nothing but the best, therefore, they were all sort of snobs. They teased me constantly, not only for my lack of Fire Bending abilities, but also for my light-colored hair. All of them had dark, Fire Nation hair. I had light brown, Earth Nation hair and weird colored eyes. If my mother hadn't been in line to the throne, I'm sure the insults would have been worse."

"It was three months after I started school that my mother and brother died. I felt so miserable that I stopped eating. I got so sick that my father pulled me from school for a week. He tried to make me eat, but I refused. After a few days, I ended up getting very sick. Doctors came to see how I was every day. I heard them talk quietly amongst themselves. They said that it was doubtful that I would make it," Risha stated, "To everyone's surprise, I pulled through, and after a week, I was back to normal."

Risha stopped for a second and drank from the cup of water in front of her. All this talking was drying her mouth and throat. Iroh noticed that his niece's voice sounded raspy. He knew some of Risha's childhood. She could take a break while he spoke for a while. "After that little spell, shockingly, Risha began showing signs of Fire Bending," Iroh stated.

With an annoyed tone in her voice, the Fauna Bender added, "Now, whenever I become better at Fire Bending, by any great amount, I get deathly sick. Isn't that fun?"

"She was sent back to school around the same time that Prince Zuko started. Immediately, the two cousins became very close and soon the other children ceased teasing Risha. Although, she was almost a year older than Zuko, Risha wasn't as advanced in Fire Bending. Often, I wondered what was preventing her from becoming far better," Iroh stated.

"It was when Zula, Zuko's younger sister, began school that I found out why. I was half a year over seven. Suddenly, I started having painful headaches and something was pulling at my heart. I mentioned it to my father and he took me to one of the doctors at the palace. The doctor looked me over, but found nothing wrong with me. He did suggest that maybe I had spent too much time in the palace. That, perhaps, I should spend some time by the sea," Risha said, "My father took a week off from his work at a smithy and pulled me out of school. We went to the Red Sand Gulf. It was amazing there. It was named as such because the sand is truly red."

"For the first few days, I still had headaches and that feeling in my heart. While at the sea was when I first realized my connection to animals. The dunes by the sea were a home to a small family of nai," Risha was interrupted.

"What are nai?" Aang questioned.

Zuko turned to the Avatar, a being he so wished to capture. This moment of curiosity from the boy reminded the Prince that the Avatar was nothing but a child. He knew what would happen if he captured Aang. Or, Zuko thought he did. What would really happen to this boy? Perhaps, his love of life would die. Maybe, he would give up. That was a saddening thought, even for Zuko. "A nai is a serpent-like creature," Zuko explained, "They live only in the Fire Nation because of the heat. They have leathery wings, small hind legs, and a whip-like tail."

Aang's face showed a look of understanding. Almost as if a memory had clicked in his mind. Roku, a past Avatar, had been from the Fire Nation. Maybe Roku had seen nai before and now, those sights were being rethought by Aang. "Exactly. So, I stumbled across a family of nai. All of a sudden, my headache disappeared and my heart was at ease. I was so shocked and happy. I became scared when I heard voices. Voices that sounded like they were inside my mind. I asked who was there. The voice asked the same thing. I responded, '_My name was Risha. I'm the niece of the Fire Lord._'The voice laughed and said, '_Ah! A Fauna Bender._' I asked, '_What's a Fauna Bender?_' It replied, '_Why, you are! Pleased to make your acquaintance, milady. My name is Shian-Nai. If you look down, you shall see me._' I looked down and all I saw was a family of nai. Then, a thought dawned on me and I hurried away."

The Prince of the Fire Nation gave a questioning look to his cousin, asking if it was all right if he continued with the story. Risha complied. "When my cousin returned to the palace, she told me what had happened. Together, we decided that we would go to the library and find out more about Fauna Benders, as soon as possible. We were delayed, however, when Risha's headaches returned, but she brushed them aside and we hurried to the library," Zuko elaborated, "At the library, we found a large, leather-bound book that told us of all types of different Benders. Most had died out thousands of years past, but the four types of Element Benders and Fauna Benders were in there."

"The book said that Fauna Benders could Bend one of the Elements as well, but only to a small degree. They had to remain in contact with an animal or else they would get terrible headaches and something in their heart would feel empty," Zuko continued, "Once they train, Fauna Benders can talk to animals either verbally or mentally. They can control what animals do by touching them or, once they become more advanced, by thought. Some of the most powerful Fauna Benders can even change their shape to that of an animal. The book said they could do that and more that hadn't been discovered yet."

"Then I had to convince my father that I was responsible enough that I could take care of an animal. I mean, I wanted these headaches to stop and there were no animals I could come in contact within the palace. It took a bit of convincing, but he agreed after I said that my mother would have let me. The next day, he went out and bought me koi fish, whom I named Kaza," Risha said, "We would talk for hours. She told me that she had originally lived out in the ocean and that she missed living there. Apparently, she had been taken from her family. Sometimes, Zuko would come and I would translate what she was saying. He was pretty amazed by the whole concept."

Risha laughed, remembering the past. It had been so much fun back then. Well, after her headaches had stopped anyway. She had been so ignorant to the war that had been going on and she liked it that way. Naturally, she had known there was a war going on, but, for children, what happened at war was extremely dulled down. "One day, when I was still ten, but almost eleven, and Zuko was nine, we decided that we would go down to the stables and see what the Komodo rhinos had to say. The guard wasn't too pleased at having us in there, but changed his mind when Zuko said he would be taking this up with his father," Risha laughed.

"We approached some of the rhinos. When we first saw them, they were uneasy and were pawing the ground. As soon as they saw me, they began to calm. '_Who is she?_' one of them asked, '_I've never seen her before._' I told them that my name was Risha. That is when a second one spoke, '_Did she just answer us? She must be a Fauna Bender. That's the only possibility._' Zuko asked what they were saying and I told him," Risha continued, "This shocked the rhinos very much. '_She is a Fauna Bender,_' the first one said, '_What is she doing in the Fire Nation? I'm sure they would just love to use her as a weapon in the war._' Then, again, I told Zuko what they had said."

Once more, Zuko took over in telling the story. "She told them that she lived in the Fire Nation. No one else knew that she was a Fauna Bender, so she was safe," Zuko said, "Or we thought so then. As it turned out, the guard had been listening in on us. As soon as he had everything figured out, he ran off to my father. In our ignorance, we sat there, having a lovely conversation with the komodo rhinos."

"After an hour passed, there was a flourish of horns. They announced the presence of the Fire Lord. My father came striding into the stable. Behind him, trailed Zula with a smirk on her face. '_What are you doing, here of all places,_' he demanded, '_Someone of our status does not belong in the stables, talking to the beasts like they can actually understand them!_' Then he turned on Risha, '_So, niece, I hear that you are a Fauna Bender, a race of Benders that can talk to animals. They haven't been heard from in years. I quite believe they have died out. Probably all killed themselves because their precious beasts are slaving away for the war. I say we're better for that too. And you. You are a part of the most powerful family in the whole Fire Nation. Yet, you can barely hold a flame. You are a shame not only to your mother, your family, but your entire country. Stay here with your beasts until I can decide what should be done with you._' Then he left. I wanted to stay with Risha, but he forced me to go with him. All the while, Zula had still been smirking."

A sigh came from Risha's direction. She had always disliked the Fire Lord. Talking about him rekindled her anger. She wished there was someone she could yell at, to get her frustrations out, but there wasn't. She would just have to remain calm. "The guard was instructed to not let me out, no matter what the circumstances. I was brought food, but just barely enough to keep me going. I asked the Komodo rhinos if they could smash through the wall, but they feared for their lives. Every day my father came and saw me. He told me that the Fire Lord might be forgiving because I was family. That wasn't so. It was two weeks before I was told my sentence. '_You are banished, weakling. You can only return over my dead body. That is very unlikely, though. In a few years, Sozen's comet will be coming. Then, I shall become immortal. You have until sunset to leave. If you are not out of the capital by then, I will have you killed._' That was when Zuko gave me the grith coins. I told him that we would see each other again. After tearful good-byes to my father, Uncle Iroh, Zuko, Kali, Kaza the koi fish, and a few others, I left as fast as I could. And that was my childhood."

Aang, Katara, and Sokka sat there pondering Risha's life. On one hand, she had been living at a palace. On the other hand, her childhood had been riddled with loss and despair. They each had their separate thoughts, though. Aang wished that he was able to talk to Appa and Momo. He was the Avatar after all. If he could learn to Bend all the Elements, why couldn't he Fauna Bend? Katara thought it was sweet how Zuko had been so close to his cousin. Risha may not have mentioned it, but she could tell that there had been several occasions where Zuko had been looking out for Risha. He may have his moments of anger, but all in all, Zuko didn't seem like that bad a guy. Sokka felt pity and awe. Perhaps why they were so drawn to each other was because they could relate. Both of their lives had been difficult so far and it didn't seem like life was about to get any easier. When they left, Sokka would greatly miss Risha. She could be a great asset to them. Maybe, he could convince her to come with them.

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I was so distracted while writing this! (Yet it turned out to be the longest chapter, so far.) First, my muse was having a field day with a story I'm writing for school. Then I was listening to a 'Learn to Speak German' CD. Then I kept getting interupted. And I know how Risha feels with the voices inside her head thing. Today I was helping cutting steel and I had to hold the steel in place. It was vibrating like crazy from the saw and I had a vibrating sound inside of my head. It was crazy.

An Ozai cameo! Grr! I hate Ozai so much. I made him come off as a real jerk in this, didn't I? Well, he's supposed to be the really bad guy in the show. Zuko isn't the bad guy, he's just confused. He's good. He just doesn't know it yet.

Reviews

25, SovereignxXxBrunette: Naked Zukos? I suppose I can put in some Zutara fluff next chapter... Actually, I was planning on it anyway.


	27. The First GoodBye

Story Arc: New Allies

Part: One- The Lutdeo

Chapter: Twenty Seven- The First Good-Bye

Author: Fritters-4-Psi

Disclaimer: I do not own the show Avatar: The Last Air Bender or the related characters. Nor do I profit from this fanfiction. The only things of my creation in this fanfiction are the Koertan, Kashi, Risha, the concept of the grith coin, Vioniza, Raven's Watch, Kali, the Nai, Shian-Nai the Nai, Kaza the Koi Fish, and the Red Sand Gulf. Other possible things to come in later chapters.

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After Risha finished talking of her childhood, Zuko excused himself. Earlier, he had said that he would be leaving this day and meant to do so. It was nearing noon and he still had plenty to do before he left. Although the Fire Nation soldiers had only stayed in the barn for one night, there was a great probability that they had made quite a mess of it. They would have to prepare to leave and clean up the barn. It was only a small amount of work to be done, but it would still take some time to complete. The Fire Nation Prince left the house.

When she saw Zuko leave, Katara pushed her chair back and stood up. Trying not to draw too much attention to herself, she walked toward the door. On accident, she tripped on a chair, falling to the ground. Quickly, she stood back up and looked around to see if anyone had noticed. Of course, all present company had noticed and were staring at her. "Where are you going, Katara?" Sokka questioned.

She paused before she spoke. There were a few options of what she could tell her brother. She could lie or tell the truth. The truth could hurt him, but so could a lie. "Risha told me that Zuko was planning on leaving today," Katara spoke the truth, "I wanted to spend some time with him before he left."

It was against Sokka's better judgement to let his sister go. He knew Zuko was nothing, but trouble for Katara. Of course, the Prince had clearly stated that he wouldn't hurt her. Also, in no time, Katara would be turning fifteen. She was a Water Bending Master, as well. Soon she wouldn't be needing her big brother's protection. He might as well be getting used to that now. "Uh, sure Katara. Go right ahead. I'm sure that would be really helpful," he said.

Sokka didn't mean to come off as a jerk when he said that. He just couldn't think of the proper words to be able to lie to Katara. He really wasn't too pleased with her talking to Zuko in a friendly manner. She, obviously, took it the wrong way. After listening to her brother, she stormed out the door. Sokka hung his head in shame. Risha got up from the table and walked over to him. She rested her hand on his shoulder and said, "It's okay. She's mad now, but soon enough, she'll realize you were just looking out for her best interests. These things work themselves out."

Outside, Katara had caught up with Zuko, who was almost at the barn. He stopped when he heard Katara approach. Turning slowly, he smiled when he saw her. "Your brother allowed you to follow after me?" Zuko raised his one eyebrow.

The Water Bender felt slightly embarrassed, thinking that Zuko was implying that she was just a kid who still needed looking after. Then she realized that he was just making an inquiry. A question based on Sokka's past actions that showed his need to protect his sister. Quickly, she regained her composure and answered, "He didn't argue with me, if that's what you mean. He didn't sound too happy with the idea, though. I'm sure he'll get over it."

Zuko laughed. He was sure he knew, even in the smallest amount, how Sokka felt. The Prince had never felt like he needed to watch over his sister, Zula. Their father had always done that. On the other hand, when Risha had first left for her exile, Zuko told himself if he ever found her, and she was alive, he would do anything to protect her. "He'll always feel like he needs to protect you. Your brother may adjust to the fact that you don't need his help any more st some point. Back in the Fire Nation, I had seen brothers who could care less about their sisters. Feel lucky that yours it so kind," Zuko explained, "I'll be leaving later today, so I have some things to take care of. If you would like, I would be honored to have you as company."

The Prince of the Fire Nation offered his arm. Gladly, Katara took it. After many long months, it was nice to have someone speak to her like she was a lady. Together, they walked the rest of the way toward the barn. Zuko opened the barn door for her. Graciously, she walked through it and Zuko followed after. The soldiers resting inside snickered when they saw Zuko with Katara. All he needed to do was give them a glare and they quieted down. Although they were relatively quiet, the Prince could tell that the soldiers were still making cracks at the relationship between Zuko and Katara. With dignity and honor, Zuko ignored these remarks.

To Zuko's surprise, the soldiers had kept the inside of the barn comparatively clean. He had expected at least two hours worth of cleaning to be done, but there hardly seemed to be half of an hour's worth. He had told Iroh and Risha that they wouldn't be leaving until roughly three-thirty. Now, he had about two and a half hours of free time. "Begin cleaning. We will be leaving today at three-thirty and I want this barn spotless," Zuko instructed the soldiers, "I will return in one hour. If the cleanliness doesn't meet my standards, there will be repercussions."

The soldiers didn't hear anything after the word '_cleanliness_'. They were far to busy laughing, making jokes and rude comments. These jokes made Katara blush. Many of them had been directed at her in an uncouth manner. A lot of the soldiers made it seem like she had no moral values not to mention other things. Quickly, Zuko pushed the Water Bender out of the barn. Once outside, he apologized for his soldiers' behavior. Although she was thoroughly embarrassed, Katara told Zuko that he shouldn't be the one apologizing. The Prince was thankful that she wasn't holding a grudge against him.

Together, the two walked in the forest. It was peaceful and quiet. Birds wove in and out of the branches of the trees. Every so often, they would see a Koertan dash out of the bracken. Fruit buds grew on the trees. On the ground, there were hoof prints of the Koertan and of the two flying bison. It was spring and all looked lovely.

They walked for forty minutes before they decided to go back to the barn. While on the way there, they came across a wounded bird. It was a small thing, no larger than Zuko's palm. Blood came from a broken wing. The Fire Nation Prince took no notice of it and would have passed it by if it wasn't for Katara. The Water Bender stopped and lifted the creature from the ground. From a pouch hanging at her side, she pulled out some water. The liquid rested in her right hand, which turned a pale blue. She set her hand on the bird's wing. Within seconds, it had stopped bleeding and the wing healed. "You're ability to heal will never cease to amaze me," Zuko commented.

Katara smiled weakly. Healing took a fair amount of energy and she was out of practice. For comfort, she slipped her hand into Zuko's. The cool touch of the previously, water-covered hand felt soothing on his hot skin that was warmed by an inner fire. "I know, in the past, we've had our differences," Zuko stated, "But I would like to ask your permission to kiss you."

The Water Bender was shocked at the Prince's forwardness, but didn't object. Zuko leaned toward Katara and their lips met. The kiss lasted for no more than three seconds, but to them, it felt as if it might have been an eternity. When they pulled away from each other Katara said, "That was nice. It's too bad that our families would never be accepting of our relationship."

Zuko nodded and looked solemn. Inside, he was confused. One on hand, even though he was exiled, he still felt tied to his country. On the other hand, his heart was telling him to abandon his quest for the Avatar and to aide him, and be with Katara. "It's such a shame," he added.

Still holding hands, they went back to the barn and Risha's house. When they got back, they saw Sokka and Risha talking outside. When Sokka saw his sister with Zuko, he tensed, but remained relatively calm. The Fire Nation Prince could tell the warrior from the Water Tribe wanted to run over to him and begin fighting, but Risha lay her hand on Sokka's lap. She was telling him that perhaps other Nations needed to teach people calming exercises.

From the door, Iroh and Aang joined the rest of them outside. Iroh had a worried look on his face. "Risha has received news of a small group a Fire Nation soldiers from some animals. She was told that the soldiers are more than three days march away," Iroh explained, "Now that your father has discovered about your little excursion against Zhao, other Fire Nation soldiers are unlikely to be courteous to you. If our soldiers are ready, it's best if we leave now."

Zuko agreed and walked off toward the barn, leaving Katara behind. He would have suggested that she come with him to the barn, but he didn't want her exposed to the soldiers' crude comments again. He entered the barn and saw it spotless. Apparently, Iroh had already mentioned something to them about leaving earlier because they were all lined up. Zuko threw open the large doors and, in synchronization, the soldiers walked out.

The farewells were short. Risha hugged both her cousin and her uncle. Sokka didn't hug them, but shook their hands. Aang, who had become quite close to Iroh, hugged him, but only waved to Zuko. Iroh gave everyone hugs. Zuko returned the handshake of Sokka, waved back to Aang, and gave Risha a hug. The Fire Nation Prince said good-bye to Katara last. They hugged and, for the second time that day, they kissed. With a final wave Zuko, Iroh, and the Fire Nation soldiers left.

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Gah! I almost forgot to save this! That could have been bad! I had Chinese food tonight for dinner. I love seasame chicken. It is awesome. If you have never had it, I suggest that you do. And sadness! Unless there's some freak event, the next chapter is the last one! Yeah, in this chapter, I would have included the soldiers' comments, but then I would have to move the rating up, probably. Some of the ones I thought of were hilarious, though.

Reviews

26, SovereignxXxBrunette: Personally, I'm a Sokka fan, but no one in their right mind could say no to a bribe of naked Zukos. I tried drawing one of the nai, but it came out horribly.


	28. The Second Good Bye

Story Arc: New Allies

Part: One- The Lutdeo

Chapter: Twenty Seven- The Second Good-Bye

Author: Fritters-4-Psi

Disclaimer: I do not own the show Avatar: The Last Air Bender or the related characters. Nor do I profit from this fanfiction. The only things of my creation in this fanfiction are the Koertan, Kashi, Risha, the concept of the grith coin, Vioniza, Raven's Watch, Kali, the Nai, Shian-Nai the Nai, Kaza the Koi Fish, and the Red Sand Gulf. Other possible things to come in later chapters.

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It hadn't been long since Zuko, Iroh, and the soldiers had left. Probably close to fifteen minutes. Katara was having mixed emotions. On one hand, she was sad that Zuko had left so suddenly. He hadn't been planning to leave until three-thirty that afternoon, but he ended up leaving at around two. There was defanitly a connection between her and the Prince. On the other hand, she was worried. More Fire Nation soldiers were more than three days away. Luckily, they had been spotted before coming too much closer. Now there was time to prepare to leave.

Katara gathered everyone together. They had to talk. "Okay, as we were informed, there are Fire Nation soldiers about three days away," she stated, "That means we have to leave. We should probably go today so they don't get even closer. We don't have much stuff to get together, so we could be ready in an hour. What do you think?"

There was silence for a short while. The past few days had been nice. Almost like a vacation. For a short amount of time, Aang, Sokka, and Katara hadn't been very worried about the Fire Nation. Aang was the first to speak, "I think you're right, Katara. Staying here would endanger Risha and the animals living in the forest. We should leave as soon as possible."

Risha was undecided on where she stood on this matter. She knew they had to leave. Aang had to go save the world. Sokka and Katara had promised him they would help. They were the only company she had in a long time, though. Before they came, she had forgotten how much she missed people. Once they left, she would be alone again. Then there was Sokka. In a few days, they had become quite close. She couldn't stand to say good-bye. "You should go as soon as you're ready. It would be dangerous to do otherwise," Risha said, "I have something to go do. There's no need to wait until I return to leave. I may be a while."

Quickly, Risha turned and strode off into the forest before anyone said any thing to her. Sokka began to go after her, but was stopped by his sister. "Let her go, Sokka," Katara said, "We've got to get ready. We can't wait and she told us not to. Besides, she may come back before we leave."

Sokka looked dejected, but gave a slow nod. The three went inside to gather the few things they had brought. That took all of fourty-five minutes. Together, the trio exited the house with packed bags. In front of the barn, patiently waiting, was Appa. Aang, Katara, and Sokka went into the barn and got the giant saddle to put on the bison. After it was secured around Appa's girth, Aang attached the leather reins to the flying bison's horns. Katara threw their bags up to Aang, who tied them down.

There still were no signs of Risha when Sokka looked to the forest. They never said good-bye. Whatever that caused her to go off into the forest without saying good-bye must have been important. Still, he wanted to say farewell and thank her for her hospitality. While Aang and Katara were busy loading their things onto Appa's saddle, he started to sneak away. To his dislike, Aang noticed. "Where are you going, Sokka?" he asked.

The warrior from the Water Tribe stopped in his tracks and turned around. "Uh, no where," Sokka stammered, "I wasn't going anywhere."

Katara looked at her brother. She felt bad that they didn't to say good-bye to Risha, but they had to leave. "If that's the case, then we're leaving now," she said, "You can take the reins. Maybe it will help keep your mind off of other things."

The two siblings climbed up the bison's side and joined Aang in the saddle. Sokka went to the front and grabbed the reins. "Yip, yip," he commanded.

Appa took to the sky and flew in the general direction of Omashu. There were yawns behind Sokka, coming from Katara and Aang. He turned around and saw them using their sleeping bags as pillows. Slowly, the two fell asleep. Sokka turned back around to see where they were going. Ahead, there was a giant clearing in the forest. As they passed over it, Sokka looked below. In the clearing there was a massive white shape. It looked suspiciously like a flying bison. Next to it was a small, human-like shape. It had to be Kashi and Risha.

He turned the reins so that Appa would land. The bison set himself down on the ground in the clearing. Sokka jumped off Appa. Indeed, like he had thought, it was Risha and Kashi. Aang and Katara were still asleep. He was sure they wouldn't mind if he said good-bye to Risha, who apparently hadn't noticed him yet. He walked over to her. "Risha, is everything, okay?" he asked.

She turned around and wipped the tears from her face. Sokka was shocked. He hadn't expect to find her crying. He put his arms around her in a hug. "What's wrong?" he questioned.

Risha looked into Sokka's eyes and said, "I don't want you to go, but I know you promised Aang you would help him. I'm horrible at good-byes, so I came out here so I wouldn't have to. I've never felt so close to any one outside of my family. I'm going to miss you."

In Appa's saddle, Aang and Katara woke up. They were unsure why they landed, so they walked to the edge of the saddle. They saw Sokka and Risha talking, and Risha looked very upset. They knew that it was best if they didn't interfere. "You could come with us," Sokka suggested to Risha.

"I can't. I have to stay here and look after the forest. That's my job," she said, "I have to take care of the animals here. I have some money for you. Take it. You'll need it more than I will. I get money regulary from the Earth Nation to watch over the forest. You should go now."

Sokka took the bag and put it in his pocket. "I'm going to miss you," he said.

After a long kiss and a final hug, Risha said, "So am I. Good-bye, Sokka. I hope we'll get to see each other again."

Sokka grabbed he hands. "I know we'll see each other again," he said, "If you can't come with us now, maybe, later you can. By the end of this summer, we'll be going to the Fire Nation to defeat the Fire Lord. We'll need all the help we can get. Find us before the end of them summer and we can deafeat the Fire Lord, together."

The two kissed once more. Sokka climbed back up onto Appa's saddle, grabbed the reins, and the bison took to the air. While ascending to the sky, the warrior from the Water Tribe waved to the Fauna Bender. He hoped that he was right, that they would see each other again. Appa flew so high that, from the ground, Risha could no longer see the giant flying bison.

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I watched The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy last night. I loved it! It was weird, but so funny. I think one of my sheep is going to lamb soon. Does anyone have any ideas what I could name the lamb(s)? I can't wait for there to be babies! They're so cute!

Reviews

27, SovereignxXxBrunette: I'm glad you liked the Zutara fluff. I thought it might come out really bad. Were you going to sing the Pirate Song? Like, Yo, ho, yo ho, a pirates life for me?


	29. My Final Note

Story Arc: New Allies

Part: One- The Lutdeo

Chapter: Twenty Nine- My Final Note

Author: Fritters-4-Psi

Disclaimer: I do not own the show Avatar: The Last Air Bender or the related characters. Nor do I profit from this fanfiction. The only things of my creation in this fanfiction are the Koertan, Kashi, Risha, the concept of the grith coin, Vioniza, Raven's Watch, Kali, the Nai, Shian-Nai the Nai, Kaza the Koi Fish, and the Red Sand Gulf. Other possible things to come in later chapters.

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I don't know how to say this, but this is it. This story is over. I started writing this a long time ago. All the way back in September. And now it's February. That's five months. I had fun, though. I've grown pretty fond of Risha. Yeah, yeah. I know. Some people might consider her a Mary-Sue, and maybe she is. I like her, though. It's like what my dad says if I place badly when showing my sheep at the fairs. '_It's just one person's opinion on one day. What matters is if you like them. The judge sees them for one day. You have to see them the other 364._'

At the beginning of writing this, I was undecided about who I shipped; Kataang or Zutara? I now say that, I'm not a hard-core shipper, but I like Zutara better. Not to say that I don't like Kataang. I just like Zutara more. I like the word better, too. I mean, say it. '_Zutara_'. It's fun to say.

I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed, which is like four different people. I would have liked to get more reviews, but I'm thankful for the ones that I did get. I'm very thankful for SovereignxXxBrunette, who would review everytime I put up a new chapter. And here is the last Revwiew Comment:

27, Half-elf: The chicken wasn't spicy at all. It was great. Now I want chicken...

28, SovereignxXxBrunette: I love the Pirate Song. I'd sing it all the time, but I can't remember the lyrics.

Well, that's it. Look out next week for New Allies: Part Two: Ice, the next part of the New Allies story arc. The gang come across a burnt down village and it's one remaining inhabitant, the Ice Phantom. And read my fanfic, Sibiling Rivalry. Yeah, it's a self-insertion fic. I just couldn't help myself. Not only am I sent to the Avatar World, but so is my brother. My brother and I don't get along. Hence the title.

See ya later. Buh-Bye now. Have a good life. Don't do drugs. Stay in school. Drive safely. Don't play with matches. Es war nett, Sie kennenzularnen (German for: It's been nice meeting you.)Dasvitdanya (what good-bye sounds like in Russian). Hola. Adieu. Adios. Good Bye.

FIN

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